prosperous age

Chapter 1038 1129 How to Regain Face

“Lending well, lending well.”

In the Ming Dynasty capital, the Forbidden City, the Cabinet, Wei Guangde’s duty room.

Wei Guangde arrived at the cabinet early today to handle official business. During this period of time, Zhang Juzheng felt embarrassed and ashamed to face people because of the impeachment of his student Liu Tai, so he had been hiding in his mansion and not going out.

You know, even the once powerful official Yan Song had never been impeached by his own students. He worked tirelessly for the court, but in the end, he even failed to catch up with the treacherous official Yan Song.

As for the handling of the Inspector Censor Liu Tai, since he was a censor, what crime was there in reporting the matter based on rumors?

This reason became his greatest reliance and life-saving talisman at this time.

Even though Feng Bao came up with the idea, the two empresses dowagers in the harem had not made up their minds.

The fighting power of the censors of the Ming Dynasty was too strong. It was not that they were good at fighting, but it was difficult to win them in a verbal battle.

Only by fighting violence with violence can we force them to surrender.

However, if the two Empress Dowagers really did this, they would never be able to wash away the bad reputation.

Therefore, in recent days, the palace has been issuing imperial edicts to reward Zhang Juzheng's residence every day, praising Zhang Juzheng and raising his position to a very high level.

Unfortunately, this still failed to make Zhang Juzheng feel relieved.

Perhaps, he really hated Liu Tai.

Before that, the palace only asked Wei Guangde and Lu Diaoyang to jointly draft a strongly worded edict and send it to Liu Tai.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Zhang Juzheng was not satisfied with the result and was still upset.

He refused to leave the government office on business, citing impeachment as an excuse.

Although he knew it, his actions were impeccable and were common practice in the court.

If one is impeached, one must avoid suspicion. If Zhang Juzheng leaves the house and returns to the cabinet at this time, it means that the matter is over and cannot be pursued any further.

Zhang Juzheng was well aware of this, so even though he knew that the palace was anxious, he still chose to do his own thing and continued to wait for the palace to further punish Liu Tai.

Because once he returned to the cabinet and held Liu Tai accountable again, even if he found other crimes in Liu Tai and punished him, it would be regarded as an act of retaliation by Zhang Ge Lao.

Without Zhang Juzheng, the work of three people was put on the shoulders of two people, and the number of memorials that needed to be processed every day would increase by 50% to 60%.

This also made Wei Guangde and Lu Diaoyang go out early and come back late every day, and they were extremely tired.

Wei Guangde had just finished processing a memorial when he heard a shout outside the door and knew it was Lu Diaoyang coming.

He put down the memorial in his hand and stood up to greet him.

After greeting each other, Wei Guangde invited Lü Diaoyang in, sat him down, and asked Lu Bu to serve him some tea. Then he asked, "What brings you here, brother?"

"It's Liu Tai. Now all the memorials are on you and me. But there are a lot of memorials at the beginning and end of the year. I didn't have time to deal with a few yesterday. I wonder how Shandai is doing here?"

Lu Diaoyang started talking.

Wei Guangde was much younger than Lu Diaoyang. Although he had a lot of memorials piled up, he could still cope with them.

In fact, although the workload of the three cabinet ministers has increased a lot, they can still handle it.

But if there are only two of us, it is really difficult to take care of everything.

The main reason why Yan Song and Xu Jie, two cabinet ministers, were able to handle cabinet affairs in an orderly manner was the existence of Yan Shifan, a young cabinet minister.

Otherwise, even Yan and Xu would be too busy to handle it.

"It's all about the same. I'm exhausted from dealing with it."

Although Wei Guangde was able to handle it in time, he also felt tired, so at this time he would not say that he could still hold on.

"Alas, this incident with Liu Tai must have hurt Uncle Da's heart."

Lu Diaoyang sighed and said, "I went to visit him yesterday and saw that he looked haggard. He didn't cry or make a fuss, but his face was dull. He couldn't vent his emotions, and I don't know when he will recover and return to the cabinet to do his job."

Wei Guangde said nothing, just nodded slightly.

At this moment, he still didn't understand the purpose of Lu Diaoyang's coming, whether he wanted to join forces with him to overthrow Zhang Juzheng, or something else.

As far as Wei Guangde knew, although the relationship between the two was not close friends, it was not bad either.

Considering Zhang Juzheng's current favor in the harem, Wei Guangde didn't believe that Lu Diaoyang would dare to have any other thoughts.

Even he doesn't have the courage.

The higher the position you reach, the more you will be walking on thin ice. One mistake can lead to eternal damnation.

In the past, when officials’ influence was not taken seriously, even if they did something wrong or said something wrong, the impact would not be great. They would just apply for an imperial edict one by one, or at worst be demoted and sent to a remote post.

But when you reach the cabinet position, if you make a mistake, you will be forced to retire at best, or be dismissed at worst.

At Wei Guangde's age, if he retires, someone has to believe it.

Officials often bully the weak and you can’t even imagine what the situation was like back then.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

Wei Guangde didn't want to experience it personally, so he had already made up his mind not to take the initiative to touch Zhang Juzheng.

Although Zhang does not have the power to encroach on the government and the opposition as in history, his influence is still huge.

If Wei Guangde had not shared a lot of his power, at this time, some censors would have abandoned their dignity and requested to punish Liu Tai in order to curry favor with him.

Wei Guangde didn't say anything, so Lu Diaoyang had to continue, "I think the root cause of Uncle Da's inner demon lies with Liu Tai.

I heard before that someone suggested to the two queen dowagers to deal with Liu Tai. I wonder if Shandai knows about this?"

After hearing what Lu Diaoyang said, Wei Guangde felt a little relieved.

It's not enough to just use him as a gun. As for dealing with Liu Tai, he's just a small censor, and it's not impossible to deal with him if you think of a way.

They are so bold as to directly impeach the cabinet minister. Today it is Zhang Juzheng, who knows if it will be me tomorrow.

"I have heard of it, but the Queen Mother was concerned about the censors' right to report on things, so she did not agree."

Wei Guangde answered.

This has actually been rumored for a long time, so there’s nothing wrong with saying it.

There were few punishments for censors in the Ming Dynasty, which was also a rule set in the early Ming Dynasty.

However, Wei Guangde looked at Lu Diaoyang at this time, pretending not to know and asked: "Brother He, do you mean..."

"Shan Dai, you understand what I mean, and I won't say anything else. We should jointly submit a petition to the court to punish Liu Tai.

Only in this way can the matter be completely settled.

Otherwise, if you keep hanging on like this, it will be no good for you or me."

Lu Diaoyang immediately said, "No, no."

Wei Guangde shook his head like a rattle when he heard this. He would never do such a thing and leave any evidence behind.

"It is said that the memorial was made by Emperor Taizu, and all previous emperors dared not abandon it. How can we do it?"

The cabinet ministers took action to punish the censors, but Wei Guangde did not want to get into trouble. He didn't know what Lu Diaoyang was thinking.

Perhaps, he just wanted to calm the matter down as quickly as possible, but he couldn't involve himself in it.

Lu Diaoyang's official career is almost coming to an end, but Wei Guangde is still young and absolutely cannot afford to be tainted by this stain.

Wei Guangde clearly remembered that in the end, those who had anything to do with Zhang Juzheng seemed to have a bad ending.

Some people were thrown into jail for various crimes, and being dismissed is the best treatment.

If he and Lu Diaoyang jointly reported this matter at this time, who knows what would happen if it was discovered in the future.

In particular, although the power of the censors to report rumors was quite controversial in the court, the indisputable fact is that this power of the censors did not disappear until the demise of the Ming Dynasty.

"Speaking on hearsay" is a double-edged sword. It is a powerful tool to regulate officialdom, but it can also easily become an excuse for factional attacks within the officialdom.

In fact, every emperor in history knew the harm of reporting rumors, but no emperor would restrict the power of the censors, because the hilt of the knife was in the emperor's hands.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he carried out a series of reforms to the court with reference to the old system of the previous dynasty, including the design and creation of the central system. The political power structure of the central government of the Ming Dynasty basically followed the institutional design of the early Ming Dynasty, and the Kedaoguan system was a very important one among them.

Kedaoguan is a collective name for Keguan and Daoguan, and is also called "yanguan".

The Department of Officials was a relatively independent supervisory system outside the Censorate. Zhu Yuanzhang, based on the summary of the system design of the previous generation, established six major departments, namely, Personnel, Revenue, Rites, Military, Criminal Affairs, and Engineering, in accordance with the Six Ministries system, and appointed officials such as Left and Right Secretaries, respectively, totaling more than 50 people, who were specifically responsible for supervising the six ministries. They were relatively independent in operation but could refute each other.

The Dao officials refer to the thirteen Dao Supervisory Censors under the Censorate, with a total of 110 people, who are responsible for supervising officials inside and outside the court.

Because they are all responsible for supervisory duties and have similar responsibilities, they are called Kedao Censors.

Although their official rank in the court was not high, the Kedao officials had the power to "hear rumors and events", so they still stood out in the power struggle in the Ming Dynasty.

In the political power structure of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial power represented by the emperor and the "power of the prime minister" represented by the prime minister and the cabinet as the main body were actually in opposition. However, the establishment of the Kedao officials actually formed a power structure with "three horses" running in parallel.

In feudal dynasties, state institutions essentially served the monarch, and the imperial power had absolute authority.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty's state apparatus, required the officials of the Ministry of Personnel and the Provincial Department to "investigate the virtues and falsities of officials, the gains and losses of governance, the good and bad of customs, and the benefits and harms of the military and civilians" at the beginning of the founding of the country, and take on the important task of supervising all officials.

When the political situation in the early Ming Dynasty was not yet stable, the officials of the Ministry of Personnel were extremely keen on maintaining imperial power, which can be seen from some historical facts in the early Ming Dynasty, among which the Hu-Lan case is the best example.

Although the imperial power enjoyed a dominant position in the early Ming Dynasty, the threat posed by the nobles' merits had to attract Zhu Yuanzhang's attention. Any rash measures would certainly cause dissatisfaction among the ministers.

At this time, the Kedao officials played a very important role. They impeached Hu Weiyong and others for being disrespectful due to their great achievements, defying the law and harboring rebellious intentions. This allowed Zhu Yuanzhang to find evidence against them more easily, and there were fewer obstacles in the subsequent activities.

Later, the emperor reduced his burden through the cabinet, but he was also full of worries about the cabinet ministers.

They also need someone to help them keep an eye on those who hold real power. If necessary, as long as the censors hear the news and report it to the emperor, they can easily take back the power.

The Kedao could report to the emperor based solely on suspicion without any real evidence, and they would not be held accountable even if they were wrong. This was the privilege given to them by the emperor.

Lu Diaoyang wanted to join forces with Wei Guangde to punish Liu Tai. Wei Guangde didn't know whether it was Zhang Juzheng's idea, but he would definitely not get involved.

Perhaps, Zhang Juzheng just wanted to bind him in this way, or perhaps it was for some other reason. In any case, Wei Guangde would never be involved.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is that the selection of personnel by the Censorate is also very independent. It is not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel at all, but is a self-contained entity.

Although the Imperial Censors had to obtain their seals from the Ministry of Personnel, the power of appointment did not really lie with the Ministry of Personnel.

In the Ming Dynasty, the censors were generally selected from civil servants who were Jinshi graduates and had worked in central ministries, mainly the Hanlin Academy, for three to five years.

Officials from other backgrounds were not qualified to enter the Censorate.

Jinshi officials who have been demoted or dismissed cannot be selected. This is a restriction on the selection.

Secondly, if censors violate regulations and laws, their crimes will be aggravated to the second level and they will be dealt with severely and strictly.

Officials from other departments who are punished, demoted, or dismissed can be reinstated for various reasons, but censors cannot be reinstated once they are dismissed. Even if they meet the conditions for reinstatement, they can only be assigned to work in other government offices.

In addition, the children of Beijing officials of the third rank and above, as well as officials of the rank of governor-general and above, were not allowed to take the examinations for the imperial examinations, in order to prevent high-ranking officials from interfering in supervision and engaging in power collusion.

It can be said that although the censors have great powers, they are also subject to many restrictions.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng both coveted the Censorate and the Imperial Household Department, but the only ones they could really get their hands on were the Imperial Household Department, not the Censorate.

Why did Wei Guangde start as an Censor in order to get the position in the Censorate, and work his way up from Guangdong to Fujian? It was because he was worried about attracting attention.

The reason for going through such a big circle was to have Lao Kan parachuted into the Censorate in Fujian as the provincial governor, and directly become the deputy chief censor, ready to take over the title of left chief censor.

If they are sent out, there will be enough local officials so that they will not be discovered.

Wei Guangde believed that Zhang Juzheng must have had an ambush, but he just didn't know who Zhang Juzheng had prepared.

Seeing that Wei Guangde was determined, Lu Diaoyang tried to persuade him again, but Wei Guangde still refused.

What a joke, this matter is of huge importance and it affects the turmoil that will occur many years later.

Although Wei Guangde wanted to ease the relationship, Zhang Juzheng was a very stubborn person, similar to Gao Gong in some aspects. He would not listen to others and was still very strict in disciplining the young emperor Zhu Yijun.

Even in private, he had argued with Wei Guangde about this matter many times.

There was no way, so Wei Guangde didn't bother to care. Anyway, it was Zhang Juzheng who would be in trouble in the future.

Wei Guangde was unwilling to sign the petition, but Lu Diaoyang still submitted a memorial alone and sent it directly to the Imperial Household Department.

Wei Guangde didn't know whether the two people had any deal behind the scenes, and he was too lazy to care.

As long as you step steadily, it won't get on you.

The next day, it was Zhang Juzheng's turn to teach Xiao Huandi.

But under the current circumstances, it was naturally impossible to attend the class, so the palace ordered Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng to switch classes.

After the class, during the break, the little emperor talked about Lu Diaoyang's memorial.

Although the emperor did not personally rule the country, he knew everything, and the two Empress Dowagers would naturally not handle government affairs behind his back.

"Master Wei, what do you want Master Zhang to come back and continue teaching me and handling state affairs?"

Zhu Yijun was now very diligent and studious, and he also wanted to be a capable monarch. He did not become complacent just because he lacked a strict teacher.

"Your Majesty, Master Zhang must be too embarrassed to let go of this matter of Liu Tai."

Wei Guangde just shook his head slightly.

"Then how can we help Master Zhang regain his face?

  Do we really need to punish Liu Tai?

The Queen Mother said that it is against the ancestral system for censors to be convicted for citing opinions."

The little emperor continued.