Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 165 Extrauterine Reaction (Part [-])
The reason why Gao Gong's heart moved was because of Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng's recent reaction didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary, but he learned a rumor from some sources that the last time Zhang Juzheng came to speak to Xu Jie, he took 3 taels of silver from Xu's family.

This incident made Gao Gong very unhappy.

But the root of his unhappiness is not Zhang Juzheng’s money collection itself——Xu Jie is your benefactor, I know that, their family is in trouble, and in the name of the Xu family’s children, I will send some money to you, the “senior brother”, please. It's not that I can't understand if I help them say a word and beg for mercy.But you and I have also been colleagues for many years, how do you not know how I treat you? I, Gao Suqing, can afford the term "also a teacher and a friend"!
But what about you, Zhang Taiyue?You kept me in the dark, and told me so many reasons without shame, as if you planned for me wholeheartedly. When you said those words, you really didn't have any guilt?
Zhang Taiyue, Zhang Taiyue, you are my favorite successor. After all, this matter has something to do with your benefactor. I can treat it as nothing happened, but next time... I hope you don't let me down again.

Just when Gao Gong was disappointed with Zhang Juzheng in his heart, Zhang Juzheng was writing letters in the cabinet's duty room.

This letter is addressed to Yin Zhengmao, who is about to assume the new role as governor of Guangxi.

Yin Zhengmao was born in She County.His first ancestor was Yin Xunze in the late Southern Song Dynasty.In the first year of Deyou, he led troops with Jia Sidao from Lin'an to Wuhu to defend against the enemy as a ministry school, and was defeated.Yin Xun retreated to Shexian County along the same route, and then settled in the south gate of the county seat.Subsequent generations have a high reputation in the local area.But by the time of Yin Zhengmao, the tenth grandson, the Yin family was quite few.

In the 26th year of Jiajing, Yin Zhengmao, who had studied hard for many years and was already 34 years old, finally became a Jinshi in high school, which brought new glory and hope to the Yin family that had declined for a long time.Due to his high ranking, he was soon promoted to the military department to Shizhong.

In his early years, Yin Zhengmao actually made his debut in the imperial court with an image of being upright and outspoken, which attracted the attention of the cabinet.So not long after, he was sent to the outside world for training. He served successively as deputy envoys of military preparations in Guangxi, Yunnan, and Huguang, and then moved to Jiangxi as an inspector.

Because they had a reputation for being honest and outspoken in their early years, the relationship between Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng, who was the same age, was not bad at that time, not to mention that they had a close relationship, at least they were close.Later, Zhang Juzheng won the exclusive attention of Xu Jie, and he was directly admitted to the cabinet by a Hanlin scholar. Yin Zhengmao often wrote back and forth with Zhang Juzheng. It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a political ally.

However, it may be because Yin Zhengmao believes that he has the responsibility to revive the family. Although Yin Zhengmao has outstanding abilities after being released, especially good at solving cases and military affairs, he pays more and more attention to money.It is hard to say whether his role as an official has benefited one party, but he is not bad for the people under his rule, and he handles cases fairly, making many wronged people innocent.It's just that Yin Zhengmao never refuses the filial piety of his subordinates, and even actively hints at it.Its greedy name also comes from this.

Later generations often said that Yin Zhengmao was corrupt. In fact, it was probably because Yin Zhengmao belonged to Zhang Juzheng's faction, and after Zhang Juzheng was liquidated by Wanli, many officials promoted by Zhang Juzheng were corrupted.

Generally speaking, Yin Zhengmao is very talented, and he is indeed a bit greedy as an official, but generally speaking, this kind of greed is mainly for his subordinate bureaucrats-filial piety is a chronic disease in officialdom, but if it is only According to certain unspoken rules, it is difficult to say exactly what constitutes corruption and bribery.

After all, the conviction of accepting bribes depends on what you have done for others, and in later generations it is a power-for-money transaction.However, Yin Zhengmao only collected "regular money", and he didn't help in any specific way, so he was able to continue to be an official intact while earning a huge reputation as "greedy and despicable".Otherwise, with such a resounding reputation as greedy and despicable, it is true that there is no censor to join him?
The reason why Gao Gong agreed to Yin Zhengmao’s going was that he said “give him 20 more and let him be greedy.” In fact, it was clear in his heart that Yin Zhengmao himself would never be greedy for this military salary. He had other methods: for example, his subordinates would definitely If there are people who are not paid, Yin Zhengmao just needs to grasp the handle of these subordinates and show them a little bit. How dare these subordinates not add a few percent, or even double him, in the various "regular tributes" every year?
In this way, the money can still be obtained, but Yin Zhengmao has nothing worth mentioning - it's just filial piety, who of you won't accept it?The bigwigs in the center of the imperial court also accept ice and respect charcoal!
Therefore, the main reason why Gao Gong was willing to let Yin Zhengmao transfer from Jiangxi inspector to Guangxi governor was because he valued Yin Zhengmao's talent.

However, in Zhang Juzheng's letter to Yin Zhengmao, naturally he would not write like this.

The gist of the letter is this:
Brother Yin had worked in Guangxi before and was familiar with the scenery and terrain of Guangxi. Now Guangxi is in turmoil again, and Guangdong is exhausted because of Japanese pirates' repeated invasions. Therefore, the chaos in Guangxi is about to be settled, and soldiers from Guangxi are needed.Brother Yin is a great talent, I have known about it for a long time, so I have recommended it many times, but Li Chunfang didn't understand military affairs before, and thought that the Guangxi chaos was not a big deal, so he procrastinated.Now that Gao Gong is back, he still understands military affairs, but Li Qian, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was the same year as him, so he still hopes that Li Qian can put down the rebellion and win this special achievement.

I, Zhang Ju, just said evil things and begged in every possible way, Gao Gong was finally relieved, and agreed to let Brother Yin you go to quell the chaos.However, although Li Qian was not very good at fighting, after all, his qualifications are there. Gao Gong also needed such a feudal official to wave his flag for him, so he refused to let you be the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, but only let you be the governor of Guangxi.

Of course, I know that with your talents, Brother Yin, it is really condescending to be a mere governor of Guangxi, but the current state affairs are like this, I still hope that Brother Yin can accept it for the time being, and deal with the troubles in Guangdong and Guangxi first.As for the center, Brother Yin, you just need to rest assured that what the court owes you today, even if I, Zhang Juzheng, owes you, I will definitely make up for it in the future...

To sum it up in one sentence: Gao Gong really doesn't want you to get such a great achievement, he wants his people to get this great achievement.It's just that the current situation is rotten, and only you, Yin Zhengmao, can solve it, and I, Zhang Juzheng, am the one who supports you the most.Up and down the court, only I, Zhang Juzheng, insisted on speaking for you, giving you a chance to show your skills.For this reason, I didn't hesitate to beg Gao Gong, and I finally got you the governor of Guangxi. Don't be disgusted...

After writing the letter, Zhang Ju smiled, dried the ink and put it away.

At this time, he recalled the scene when the cabinet passed the emperor's decree.

"Gao Shishi..." Zhang Juzheng muttered to himself, "You were born at a good time. If Jian Xiu, the only son in my family, happened to be the same age as the crown prince, how could you allow you to rely on the crown prince so easily? Li Chunfang, that useless dim sum He has no foresight, and dare not object when the matter has reached this level, it seems that his days in the cabinet are numbered."

(End of this chapter)