The Prosperous Era of Longwan

A few months after Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty in the capital was paralyzed, which no one could have imagined in advance.

The reason for all this was just the fight between Xu Jie, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Gao Gongzhijia, the assistant minister.

This kind of endless fighting may have been planned by Xu Jie when he was drafting the Jiajing edict.

In the edict, he not only admitted his faults, although Emperor Jiajing did not seem to have this intention at all during his lifetime, but it was written by Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, and the most important thing was to correct the mistakes he had made before.

All ministers who were convicted for admonishing were to be reinstated if they were still alive, and those who were dead would be given a memorial ceremony, and those who were still in prison would be released immediately and resume their duties.

Xu Jie did all these things that could be bribed and won people's hearts by himself.

As a result, Xu Jie gained a great reputation.

At this time, the huge role of good reputation is also fully reflected.

The vast majority of ministers almost chose to side with the chief minister, and their one-sided criticism and impeachment of Gao Gong made the few officials in the court who still supported Gao Gong dare not speak out.

It was expected by the court that Zhao Bingran, the Minister of War, returned to his profession due to illness, but at this time, it became clear to them that Zhao Bingran was using this to express his dissatisfaction with Gao Gong.

In the household department of the capital, Ge Shouli has taken over the important task from Gao Yao and started to take care of the household affairs.

However, the time of taking over was too short, and the main affairs of the ministry still relied on Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang, the left and right ministers of the Ministry of Revenue.

Xu Yangzheng, the left minister of the Household Department, and Gao Gong were old classmates who taught in the same school. They were both Jinshis in Jiajing for 20 years, while Liu Ziqiang, the right minister, was a fellow villager of Gao Gong. Both of them had always been on good terms with Gao Gong.

However, at this time, Xu Yangzheng had already come to check Liu Ziqiang's room, and after retreating, he began to spy.

The reason why they were taught in the same hall was because Xu Yangzheng and Gao Gong entered the Hanlin Academy together after the imperial examination and became shujishi. However, after leaving the academy, Gao Gong was appointed as the editor of the Imperial Academy. After passing the examination in nine years, he was promoted to the Hanlin Academy.

After that, he was sent by Emperor Jiajing to Prince Yu, entered the mansion to teach, and opened his residence to receive scriptures.

But Xu Yangzheng was almost unlucky. After leaving the school, he went to Renhuke to work as a minister.

In the 27th year of Jiajing's reign, Li Rujin and Zha Bingyi of Hu Kedu accused Lianghuai Deputy Envoy Zhang Lu and Yan Shifan of bribery and gain power. Yan Song was angered and was demoted to a post in Haitong County, Yunnan Province. Classic history.

Afterwards, his career was suppressed until the 41st year of Jiajing, when Yan Song and his son were overthrown. Xu once again served as counselor of the Nanjing General Affairs Department, minister of Guanglu Temple, and now Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

After so many years of wandering, he no longer favored his fellow minister Gao Gong. Although he seemed to have a happy conversation with Gao Gong before and had a close relationship with him, he even more supported the defeat of Yan Song and then presided over it. Xu Jie, who works to bring order out of chaos.

This time, he took the initiative to come to Liu Ziqiang's check-in room to see what the deputy meant.

As for Ge Shouli, he was new here. Given the current trend in the court, Xu Yangzheng did not think that Ge Shouli would support Gao Gong.

"Master Liu, at the court meeting, Yu Zhuan, Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde should have supported the policy of opening up the sea, not necessarily Gao Gong. Do you think they have written a memorial in support of Gao Gong these days?"

Xu Yangzheng did not think that he could impeach Gao Gong by himself. He wanted to bring Ge Shouli and Liu Ziqiang together to express his support for Xu Jie and against Gao Gong in the name of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

There were many memorials to impeach Gao Gong before, but most of them were expressions of personal opinions of officials, but now what he wants to do is to express his position through the Yamen of the Ministry of Revenue.

In order to show favor to the chief assistant Xu Jie, or perhaps out of envy and jealousy, he chose to attack Gao Gong at this critical moment.

After all, Gao Gong's official career was so good that it made him feel jealous. They were all from Hanlin, and Gao Gong had already entered the cabinet, but he was destined to be unable to do so.

In this era, the ultimate goal of scholars is still to join the cabinet to realize the so-called wish of "cultivating oneself, harmonizing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world."

For those who support Gao Gong, most of them are Jinshi in the previous subject. Gao Gong, as one of the examiners, is the mentor of many Jinshi in the new subject.

It can be said that Gao Gong's honor and disgrace in the court will directly determine the future future of these people. Whether they are active or passive, they are actually tied to Gao Gong when they participate in the examination.

As for Wei Guangde, he was very lucky. The chief examiner of the examination was Mr. Lu Benlu Ge, who had been recovering at home for several years. He basically didn't care about anything. Naturally, it was their Jinshi who chose to join the forces in the DPRK.

Wei Guangde finally chose to hug King Yu's thigh tightly. Although the thigh seemed very thin at that time, he succeeded in the end.

As for Gao Gong's fellow villagers, although no one came forward to impeach Gao Gong at this time, most of them did not dare to speak out.

The opposition is too powerful. Even if Xu Yangzheng comes to lobby today, Liu Ziqiang still wants to stay out of the matter.

Yes, most Henan officials in Beijing chose to play ostrich and avoid this dispute.

The commotion was really too big, and Gao Gong had little power to fight back, so he could only hope that Emperor Longqing would favor him and keep his position as a cabinet minister.

"Jiff, do you really want to impeach the prime minister?"

Although Liu Ziqiang had always stated that he would not get involved, Liu Ziqiang finally couldn't stand Xu Yangzheng's insistence. He was finally a little moved, but he also had many concerns, "If I remember correctly, he is in the same department as you."

"Yes, Su Qing is a classmate of mine, but what he is doing now has offended the public and the public. Shouldn't he be held responsible?"

Sighing, Xu Yangzheng continued: "The six ministries are not interested in official duties now, and it's not all because of this incident. Only when Su Qing leaves the court can the court resume normal operations. I am also thinking about the court."

"The memorandum you have drafted, even if I sign it and the treasurer, the doctors and principals below me sign it, can you guarantee that Mr. Ge will also support it?"

Liu Ziqiang's words undoubtedly revealed his thoughts. He was tempted and wanted to be consistent with the mainstream public opinion of the court. This is the way to be an official, and he also wanted to continue to be an official.

"The people below should not object. Even if some people are unwilling to sign, it will make no difference to the overall situation, so as long as we can persuade Mr. Ge, it is enough."

Xu Yangzheng said with confidence.

"Then what you mean is that now we go to Mr. Ge and ask him to sign this memorial, and then let others sign it too?"

Liu Ziqiang said hesitantly.

"I think it's better for us to sign first."

Xu Yangzheng looked at Liu Ziqiang, who had been persuaded, and said calmly: "We have signed our names with the lieutenants and principals of each department, and then we will use this memorandum to persuade Mr. Ge.

He has just arrived, so he probably doesn't want to refute the opinions of other people in the yamen. Although he is the minister, after all, he still has to rely on us to do things. "

As the saying goes, the three things that happen when a new official takes office is that Ge Shouli should find a way to pressure the household officials. But for new officials, before these three things are set off, they generally will not choose to argue with their subordinates because of different opinions. The best option is to stand with everyone.

Moreover, making this choice now also conforms to the public opinion of the ruling and opposition parties.

"Besides, he doesn't seem to have anything to do with Xu Shoufu or the Prime Minister. He has no stakes, so he should choose the Hubu Yamen to be consistent."

Xu Yangzheng continued.

Liu Ziqiang thought for a while, and although he was very reluctant to reverse the trend, in the current situation, it seemed that it didn't really matter if the memorial was not published in the Ministry of Household Affairs.

It seemed that only Emperor Longqing could preserve the high arch.

Unless the ministers' opinions can influence the emperor, given the current situation, Emperor Longqing might rather support Gao Gong than Baiguan.

Of course, Emperor Longqing would not do this easily, because the result would be that the court would become alienated.

Gao Gong can't compete with Xu Jie. If you want to continue to rise at this position, you must have the support of senior officials.

At this moment, Liu Ziqiang finally made up his mind to reverse the trend and show goodwill to Xu Shoufu.

As a result, the two of them kept recruiting officials from their subordinates in the duty room, asking them to express their opinions and sign the memorial.

After everyone signed their names, the two took the memorial drafted in the name of the Ministry of Revenue and went to Shangshu Ge Shouli to check in.

What happened in the household department had already been spread through some secret channels when Xu and Liu were working on it.

Wei Guangde was in the check-in room and felt a headache when he saw the note Lu Bu brought in.

The news was not collected by his people, but was delivered by a person in charge of the Household Department originally assigned by Prince Yu's Mansion.

One after another, officials from the Qing Dynasty were called to check on Liu Ziqiang's house. After returning, people familiar with him would naturally discuss the matter.

Hubu, Wei Guangde never expected that they would be the first to denounce Gao Gong in the name of the yamen.

You know, Wei Guangde also learned about it before. The Ministry of Hubu has just changed its minister. Logically speaking, it should not be rushed to participate in the court struggle. Moreover, the left and right ministers of the Ministry of Hubu are inextricably related to Gao Gong.

Who would have thought that these two people would secretly lead the opposition to Gao Gong.

Everyone rebelled against their relatives.

This is the only word that Wei Guangde can think of at this time.

Just two days ago, the palace handed him a note asking them to find a way to solve the current situation.

How to deal with it?

Wei Guangde thought about it all night and felt that he didn't have the ability.

To speak for Gao Gong is to stand on the opposite side of the government and the opposition, and become the public enemy of the whole court. Now even Gao Gong's students no longer dare to speak, and those of his contemporaries are in a similar situation.

Wei Guangde knew that the emperor wanted Yu Zhuan's people to stand up and support Gao Gong again, but could he do this?

Even if he offends others this time and saves Gao Gong, his impression is already bad, and officials in both the government and the public will not agree with him.

A person like this can do nothing if he remains in the cabinet except to be a mascot.

After all, the power of the cabinet is virtual, and the work must be completed through the six ministries.

Once the Pavilion Elder loses the support of the six ministries, he is actually being sidelined. It is better for such a person to stay in the Pavilion than to go back.

Because he will become a time bomb, and there is no telling when it will explode, and the result will be that the court will be paralyzed again.

Originally, Wei Guangde was still considering whether to contact Yu Zhuan's old friend and write two memorials to help Gao Gong speak. However, after learning about today's Hubu incident, he finally gave up this plan.

In fact, even if they are superior, in the eyes of the ministers, they are just expressing His Majesty the Emperor's wishes and protecting people, but it is of no use.

If Xu Jie doesn't come out to do things, he has actually expressed his attitude.

It’s him without me, it’s me without him.

Public opinion in the court decided that Emperor Longqing would either let Xu Jie go home or let Gao Gong leave.

Wei Guangde thought about his words in his mind, but he still planned to send a note to the palace, analyze the current situation in detail to Emperor Longqing, and ask him to make a choice between Xu Jie and Gao Gong.

Obviously, the cost of destroying Gaogong is much smaller than that of destroying Xujie, and the court can quickly resume operations.

As for those officials who danced the most happily, as the minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wei Guangde said that he could let them get out of the capital after the inspection in Beijing next year.

Of course, the emperor had to take action for those with the highest official positions, and their personnel relations were not in the hands of the Ministry of Personnel.

After these people who oppose Gao Gong leave, His Majesty can just choose an opportunity to recruit Gao Gong back.

He also made a detailed analysis of the household affairs as a case and told Gao Gong that the current situation of betrayal and separation was irreversible.

At this time, Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang went out dejectedly outside the room of the Minister of Household Affairs. They lobbied in front of Ge Shouli for an hour, but in the end they still did not get Mr. Ge, who they thought would be easy to talk to, to sign the memorial.

"what to do?"

Unexpectedly, this matter was so difficult to handle, and Liu Ziqiang was a little confused.

The whole memorial leaves a blank space at the signature, which is the space they left for Shangshu Ge Shouli.

As a memorial expressing the attitude of the Ministry of Revenue, Shangshu must come first, followed by Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang. But now Ge Shouli would rather offend his colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue than refuse to sign. This memorial seems to be a nondescript "Baitou Shu" , the signature space is largely empty.

"What else can we do? This is all we can do."

Xu Yangzheng had a headache, but he had no choice. He couldn't make a new copy and ask the people below to sign it again. By then, I'm afraid many people would no longer agree to the signature.

In the evening, Wei Guangde was stunned when he received the contents of the report sent to the cabinet from the Ministry of Household Affairs.

He didn't expect that Ge Shouli would dare to brave the world's disapproval and refuse to denounce Gao Gong at this time. He was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and he dared to offend his colleagues without even getting hot on his ass.

However, from this, Wei Guangde also felt that Ge Shouli was an upright person and a person who could do things. At least he had never opposed the opening of the sea since he entered the capital, and he could visit more in the future.

As someone who is committed to joining the cabinet, he is worthy of winning over the senior members of the Sixth Ministry, or at least building a good relationship with them.

There was a news about "white-headed sparse" in the household department, and naturally it couldn't be hidden from Xu Jie, who had been resting in the mansion.

After reading the transcript sent by Zhang Juzheng, Xu Jie just shook his head and said nothing.

It was just his inner thoughts that even Zhang Juzheng opposite him had no way of knowing.

After thinking for a long time, he had a clear judgment on the current situation in the DPRK. Then he looked at Zhang Juzheng and said, "Let Li Zhenyuan report. Let him contact the Sixth Section and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to take action together."

"Teacher, are you sure you will go all out to impeach now?"

Zhang Juzheng was still hesitant. After all, Emperor Longqing had stayed in the imperial court for all the previous memorials, and he issued successive decrees to comfort Xu Jie and Li Chunfang, with the purpose of getting them to leave the government to work.

"No need, most of the people in Yuzhuan don't like Gao Gong. They haven't moved yet, which means they won't come forward to protect people. Your Majesty should have a clear understanding of the seriousness of the situation. "

Early on the next morning, Li Zhenyuan from the Engineering Department was impeached and Gao Gong's memorial was sent to the cabinet and fell into the hands of Chen Yiqin.