The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Xu Jie returned to the cabinet. While arranging for officials from the Ministry of Personnel to come to the cabinet to discuss the following matters, he also sent someone to report to Prince Yu's Mansion.

It's not that this matter is of great importance, but mainly because Xu Jie considered that Wei Guangde had entrusted Zhang Ke's appointment and removal, so he sent someone to inform him.

He also knew that Lao Kan had a good relationship with Wei Guangde, but when Yan Song was there, he only thought that Yan Song wanted to deal with Wei Guangde and removed his help, so he deliberately transferred Lao Kan's position and did not object at the time.

In fact, this matter had already spread in the Ministry of Justice, but neither Lao Kan nor Wei Guangde approached him to handle the matter. Xu Jie thought that they had acquiesced, so he did not change it after Yan Song took office, and this time he also passed the news to Wei Guangde. .

When the news reached Prince Yu's Mansion, Zhang Juzheng was kind enough to ask Wei Guangde's opinion, of course referring to the release of Lao Kan.

"Should I talk to the teacher about Ren Zhi's matter and rearrange his stay in Beijing?"

Zhang Juzheng didn't know that the matter was a foregone conclusion. Hearing that Wei Guangde's good friend Lao Kan was also going to be released, he asked with concern.

"I asked him before and he had no objection to the release."

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly and said, of course he would not tell Zhang Juzheng that this was actually arranged by him early in the morning, so he could only act helpless.

When Wei Guangde said that this was Lao Kan's choice, Zhang Juzheng naturally didn't say much.

However, considering that Wei Guangde was still in the capital, it would not be difficult for him to return to the capital. When he didn't see his fellow countryman Ouyang Yijing, he wrote a letter to complain, and finally Wei Guangde got him back.

Zhang Juzheng was thinking this, while Wei Guangde was thinking about visiting Mr. Xu Ge in the next two days.

When Zhang Ke sent letters before, he also sent a lot of things, all of which were used to manage the officialdom in the capital.

Zhang Juzheng told him before that he visited Xu Jie once and gave him some gifts after Xu Jie agreed. This time the matter was settled, so he would naturally go there again.

It was also unlucky, who asked Zhang Ke to send the letter to him to do.

Thinking about it, although Wei Guangde doesn't have much power in the capital now, he has the name of Prince Yu's Mansion behind him. No matter who he goes to for work, the other party has to give him three points of respect. In this way, he becomes one of those fellow villagers who were active in the capital in the same year. Best contact person.

The Ministry of Rites clan received a note from the inner court and sent it to various princes. It was only the next day that it reached Prince Yu's palace. After all, it was not a big deal.

But obviously Zhang Juzheng didn't go to Xu Jie's house last night, so he didn't know about it.

When he saw the mention of re-recording the grand ceremony, he finally realized what the official document sent to the royal palaces in various places meant.

He had heard Xu Jie say before about re-recording the ceremony. Now he knew that the matter was a foregone conclusion, but his promotion was far away, so he couldn't help but feel a little dazed all day long.

In Prince Yu's Mansion, it was naturally difficult for him to ask for leave and go to the cabinet to ask the teacher for details.

Wei Guangde didn't know that "Yongle Dadian" would be re-recorded. Although he had mentioned it to Chen Ju at first, it was just an idea.

Chen Ju only told Wei Guangde when he proposed it in front of Emperor Jiajing. After so long, he thought he was already obsolete.

He was still very surprised when he saw this all at once today. He was still in a daze looking at the note in his hand.

"It's a good thing to re-record the ceremony, but it's too expensive. It would be a good idea if the royal palaces bear the expenses."

At this moment, Yin Shizhen said to King Yu.

The only surviving set of "Yongle Dadian" is now very difficult for people in the Hanlin Academy to borrow, and only the Jiajing Emperor could use it at will.

Therefore, for King Yu, he only knew that such a set of books was compiled during the Chengzu period. He had never seen it with his own eyes, so naturally he had no emotion.

"I heard that there are tens of thousands of copies of the book. It really costs money to copy one copy."

King Yu just said calmly.

"I heard that during the time of Emperor Chengzu, I once thought about publishing this book, but it was shelved because of the huge cost."

Yin Shizhen then said: "Publishing and printing is too expensive, so it would be a good idea to make a copy and keep it. There have been frequent fires in the palace in recent years, so it is indeed necessary to do this."

"Mr. Yin, have you seen this "Yongle Dadian" when you were in the Hanlin Academy?"

After hearing that Yin Shizhen valued this book and supported the re-recording, King Yu asked casually.

However, Yin Shizhen shook his head and said: "This book is kept strictly. Those who are not at the bachelor level will not have the opportunity to read it. Unless it is necessary, you have to ask the master of the academy for instructions."

King Yu is still King Yu, not the prince, so he has no right to read this book without the permission of Emperor Jiajing.

After a few words, he became interested and wanted to see the "Yongle Dadian".

"Shandai, have you seen the ceremony before?"

At this time, Zhang Juzheng seemed to remember the past and couldn't help but ask aloud.

"When I first entered the Hanlin Academy, I studied with Bachelor Wu Qingwu for a period of time. He did have a volume of the Grand Canon. It was because I returned the volume that I was lucky enough to enter the Wenyuan Pavilion and see the "Yongle Grand Canon"."

Wei Guangde opened his mouth and replied.

"Oh, Shandai has entered Wenyuan Pavilion, so does the "Yongle Dadian" really have tens of thousands of copies?"

King Yu became interested, moved his seat and leaned towards Wei Guangde and asked.

"I don't have time to ask, but there are hundreds of bookcases in that room. It is said that all of them store the Yongle Canon. I guess there should be some."

Wei Guangde replied, and then he thought about it, after all, he had made a meritorious service that time, and he couldn't help but want to show off in front of King Yu, so he went on to burn the three main halls that day. The fire even spread to the Meridian Gate and burned into the Zuoshun Gate. .

If he had not stayed calm in the face of danger and decisively led people to demolish the corridor from Zuoshunmen to the East Pavilion and Wenyuan Pavilion, I am afraid that the cabinet and the entire "Yongle Dadian" would have been destroyed in the flames.

"It is indeed dangerous. No wonder the last time we were in Fengtian Temple Square, we saw that the original corridors leading to the three main halls were gone. I am afraid that such a scene will happen again."

Zhang Juzheng sighed.

This guy is so flattering.

Wei Guangde gave Zhang Juzheng a thumbs up in his heart.

Wei Guangde's hard work was not in vain. Emperor Jiajing rewarded him based on his merits and gave him a job in Zhan Shifu. His grade was also raised by half a level, allowing him to catch up with the number one scholar in his subject.

Even if you are only promoted by half a level, it is not easy. If there is no driving force behind it, you will have to wait for nine years to complete the exam, and the results of the exam must be average or above before you can be promoted.

As for luck, I can only say that I am really lucky.

The three main halls were set on fire sooner or later, but it happened to be set on fire when he passed by, giving him the opportunity to expose his face. This kind of credit is not often achieved.

In the following time, not many major events happened inside or outside the country. That is to say, a military report was sent from Fujian, which made Wei Guangde pay a little attention. He found out that Yu Dayou, the deputy commander-in-chief of Southern Jiangxi Province, led his troops to sneak attack on Zhang Lian's lair while he was attacking Pinghe County. But the result doesn't seem to be good.

The Ming army did not expect that Zhang Lian would make his lair impregnable and use the hills to build a walled city for defense, making it difficult for the Ming army to achieve a substantial breakthrough.

Even the Ministry of War did not expect such a battlefield environment.

At the beginning, Yang Bo only thought that it was a city built in the mountains. Who would have thought that due to the large number of people gathered, Zhang Lian could occupy all the surrounding hills in a short period of time and build a huge and complicated fortification.

However, the Ming army has approached Zhang Lian's lair, which also heralds the dawn of an end to the war to encircle Zhang Lian and his group of rebels.

As long as Governor Liu Xian can provide continuous support to Yu Dayou, the Ming army will be able to conquer this place sooner or later. At that time, the rebel troops outside will only need to be sorted out and eliminated slowly, and the chaos in Fujian will be calmed down.

Therefore, after the news reached Beijing, Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of War, immediately went to Xiyuan to ask for an audience with Emperor Jiajing. After returning to the Ministry of War, he sent many official documents to You Zhende of Fujian, Liu Xian of Guangdong, and Yu Dayou of Nangan, presumably to urge the end of the war as soon as possible.

Documents to the princes in various places have been sent out. No matter how anxious Emperor Jiajing is, he can only wait for replies from various places. However, the news from the Ministry of War that the victory of Fujian's rebellion is in sight can be regarded as a consolation to him.

But this good mood soon disappeared after the new memorials from Fujian and Guangdong arrived in the capital.

Because they encountered strong resistance from Hu Zongxian's troops in Zhejiang and suffered heavy losses, starting from the 41st year of Emperor Jiajing's reign, the area invaded by Japanese pirates moved significantly southward and began to harass Fujian and Guangdong.

The Japanese pirates who started from Wenzhou colluded with the Japanese pirates from Funing and Lianjiang and captured Shouning, Zhenghe, and Ningde. A group of Japanese pirates from Nanao, Guangdong, colluded with the Japanese pirates from Fuqing and Changle to capture Xuanzhongsuo. The Japanese pirates quickly spread to Longyan and Songxi. , Datian, Gutian, Putian and other places.

Faced with this situation, the most depressing person was Governor Hu Zongxian who was in Zhejiang.

A dragnet was set up in Zhejiang to wait for the Japanese pirates to fall into the trap, but what they didn't expect was emergency documents from Fujian and Guangdong.

As a last resort, Hu Zongxian had no choice but to follow Liu Xian and detach some troops to suppress Japanese pirates. At the same time, he also dispatched Qi Jiguang, who was in Zhejiang, to lead his troops into Fujian to participate in the suppression of Japanese pirates in Fujian.

However, he still clearly understood the importance and did not mobilize Yu Dayou's troops. He only asked Liu Xian to mobilize some of the troops that had been planned to be sent to Yu Dayou to fight against the Japanese.

But at this time, Yu Dayou was riding a horse and walking on the mountain. Countless corpses were scattered from the mountainside to the foot of the mountain.

In the distance, a group of Ming troops were escorting the armored leader of the bandit army.

"General, we have confirmed with the prisoner that this person is Xiao Wan, the leader of this bandit army."

The commander in front of him had already galloped to Yu Dayou, clasping his fists to report.

"The defeated general will be taken away for rigorous interrogation. Be sure to find out where Zhang Lian's fellow bandit is."

Yu Dayou didn't want to see such a defeated general, so he raised his whip and ordered.

"As commanded."

Na Zong agreed, reined in his horse and returned, taking Xiao Wan aside for interrogation.

Looking around, Yu Dayou's face showed no emotion. He just ordered the captain of the soldiers who was following him: "Send out a few more teams of sentinels to find out the movements of the other three thieves."

As for the lair that Zhang Lian had worked so hard to manage, Yu Dayou no longer had the intention to go to the top of the mountain to destroy the villages. Instead, he planned to use the simplest and cruelest way to end the war here as soon as possible.

He already knew the news about the raging Japanese pirates along the coast, and he also understood that the imperial army could not stay here for a long time to suppress the bandits.

Although he had experienced countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood, Yu Dayou still couldn't bear to give the final order, because at that point, once started, there was no way to stop it in time. Even if the rebel army surrendered, countless people would still die.

Now Yu Dayou didn't know what kind of news he hoped to bring back from the detective horse. Zhang Lian returned to his hometown or knew that Xiao Wan's army was ambushed and the whole army was annihilated and fled in panic.

Yes, he had already planned to use fire to attack and burn down those cities. Continuing the attack would only increase casualties.

If Zhang Lianjun returned to his home base, he would be able to wipe out all the rebels in one fell swoop. However, if he scattered and fled, he would be able to commit fewer crimes, but it would also increase the difficulty of subsequent encirclement and suppression.

However, after receiving the news that Japanese pirates were invading Fujian in large numbers, Yu Dayou didn't care much anymore.

Of course, the capital is still unaware of the situation in Fujian, but those well-informed officials in the official circles already know that the cabinet is considering personnel arrangements for re-recording the "Yongle Dadian".

Ever since the inner court handed over the rites to the various princes' palaces, the news could no longer be concealed, and there was no need to conceal it.

After all, it is a re-recording of "Yongle Dadian", a collection of ancient Chinese classics, many of which have been lost.

But for them, it was just a private discussion, but they couldn't make up their minds. Only officials from the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Rites could still go out and hope to participate.

All you need to do is assign some tasks in the re-entry work, and a few years later it will be a great achievement, enough to ensure promotion to an official position.

No one would think that the royal palaces in various places would not buy it. After all, it was good governance, and no one would object to the huge expense of re-recording the ceremony, even if the court's finances were still in embarrassment.

"Yesterday, my wife was still asking me whether every page of "Yongle Dadian" was also made of gold."

In Prince Yu's palace, all the officials had nothing to do and were chatting casually to pass the time.

The news of the re-recording of the Grand Ceremony spread during this period and was no longer limited to the officialdom. Various versions of legends about the "Yongle Grand Ceremony" also began to spread rapidly among the people.

"The legend of the Golden Book has been circulating a few days ago. The latest legend I heard is that there is a treasure map secretly hidden in the grand ceremony. It is the property collected by Taizu when he destroyed Zhang Shicheng's tribe and was buried to prevent the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"Haha. They didn't even understand when the ceremony was written, and they actually involved Zhang Shicheng."

Wei Guangde couldn't help but laugh at the content of their chat.

He had also heard about the folk rumors. If he hadn't seen the "Yongle Dadian" with his own eyes, he still wouldn't believe it.

Use gold to make books. Two volumes in one volume is okay, even ten volumes are acceptable, but tens of thousands of volumes, what a joke.

"Master Gao went to my teacher's house yesterday."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng suddenly spoke.

When everyone heard this, their voices suddenly stopped, but soon they chuckled or shook their heads.

The purpose of Gao Gong's visit to Xu Jie's house was self-evident. Naturally, he went to do the re-recording work. No one thought that Gao Gong also wanted to participate.

In their view, given Gao Gong's current situation, he only needs to act steadily and he will definitely have a place when the next Shangshu-level officials are adjusted.

"Is there anyone who can be chosen as the chief school officer?"

Wei Guangde also asked curiously.

This was obviously the purpose of Gao Gong's trip, but it was just put forward by Wei Guangde in this way.

"It is said that His Majesty has decided on Qu Jingchun, and the others are still under discussion."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde and said calmly.