prosperous age

Chapter 425 Chapter 424
Hearing that Gao Gong said that he was going to visit Wu Peng, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng below thought that he had accepted their opinions and aimed at the vacancy in the official department.

But then, Gao Gong's words broke their guess.

"The palace still needs someone who can speak for the palace in the position of minister. I bet on both sides."

Gao Gong turned his head to look at Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, and said: "The main goal is still to be the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, but I will also go to Wu Peng. If the position of the Ministry of Rites is hopeless, I will settle for the second best and strive for the position of the Ministry of Officials."

Wei Guangde felt that Gao Gong might have been deluded by his smooth official career in the past two years, thinking that Emperor Jiajing really planned to boost the power of Prince Yu's Mansion in a short period of time.

But this time, he didn't open his mouth to stop, although he felt that Gao Gong's idea was inappropriate.

At the very least, having watched many palace fighting dramas of later generations, especially the battle of the Nine Dragons in the Kangxi Dynasty, Wei Guangde knew that as an emperor, before the deadline, he would never support the Yuwang Mansion, maybe pave some roads, But they will never be allowed to be in power when they are still in good health.

However, thinking about the information he had seen and heard before, Wei Guangde somewhat understood the reason why Gao Gong had such an idea.

In the 17th year of Jiajing, after the death of Emperor Jiajing's biological mother, Empress Dowager Jiang, Emperor Jiajing decided to bury his biological mother and Zhu Youzhu in Xianling together after a long consideration.

Emperor Jiajing wanted to tour the south, so he naturally had to arrange affairs in Beijing and China, but the choice of Emperor Jiajing at this time was a bit unexpected.

He issued a decree, appointing the four-year-old prince Zhu Zaiyu as the prince to supervise the country.

Of course, such a supervising state is in name only, and the actual power in the court is still in the hands of the important ministers in the court and the emperor who is on the southern tour.

These are the records that Wei Guangde saw in the Imperial Academy, but until now, Wei Guangde has heard that someone has compiled this into another version, that is, Emperor Jiajing was devoted to cultivating immortals, so he arranged for the prince to supervise the country, so that he could devote himself to it Put into practice.

Regarding this, Wei Guangde didn't even bother to refute it, thanks to the fact that they can figure it out.

In this way, either it is taken for granted because of ignorance, or it has ulterior motives.

Although Wei Guangde was not sure whether Gao Gong had some ideas, perhaps because Emperor Jiajing had not been in court for a long time, it was rumored that he often stayed with alchemists in Xiyuan, so he took it for granted that the emperor abandoned the government and devoted himself to cultivating immortals, or that Emperor Jiajing was very serious about the world. Power is seen very lightly.

But according to Wei Guangde's observation, if Emperor Jiajing really had the idea of ​​delegating power to King Yu, he would never personally review the memorials every day.

Thinking of the previous and recent memorials sent by the inner court, there were many memorials written by Emperor Jiajing. From this, Wei Guangde judged that Emperor Jiajing never intended to let go of power.

Afterwards, Gao Gong did not stay long in Yu Wang's mansion before leaving.

After sending Gao Gong away, King Yu greeted Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde, and hurried back to the inner courtyard of the palace.

"His Highness is a little strange these days. In the past, he would stay here for a while when there was no class. These two days, he only came during class, and hurried back to the inner courtyard after class."

Looking at King Yu's back, Wei Guangde whispered to Zhang Juzheng beside him.

In addition to teaching Yu Wang, Yin Shizhen also has to manage some trivial matters in the palace, that is, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, who have just entered the palace, have less to do. When they are free, they will inevitably get together to chat and pass the time.

"I heard from Eunuch Li that a new batch of maids has been recruited into the palace recently, and you know His Highness's preferences, so that's it."

Zhang Juzheng replied without any surprise.

"Well, then we have to find an opportunity to persuade him. Excessive indulgence is not a good thing."

Wei Guangde said with a frown.

Although it seems natural for the prince to like women, but now that he is an official of the palace, he still has to tell King Yu some things, at least to fulfill his duties.

"Forget it, Mr. Yin told His Highness before, but His Highness agreed very happily, but do you think it has any effect?"

Zhang Juzheng replied with a smile at this time, "Our Highness is like this, he admits his mistakes faster than anyone else, but it is very difficult for you to make him correct.

What's more, Master Yin also has the same thoughts as you, and wants to tell His Highness that this is our responsibility, but we don't force it. After all, His Highness has no heirs now, and when His Highness has a son and a half, it will Time for us to take it seriously. "

Speaking of this, Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde again, and said teasingly: "Shan Loan, you came to the palace recently, didn't you come and go in a hurry, and your energy is not very good during the day, let me think about it, you won't."

Wei Guangde suddenly felt a little hot on his face. He and Xu Jianglan have been married for several years, and they still have no children.

Some time ago, I received a letter from Jiujiang's family, and my sister-in-law was pregnant again. This is the second child. Naturally, I wrote this letter to ask for news from him.

Therefore, Wei Guangde has also cultivated more during this period. The most important thing is that Wei Guangde has a different concept from people in this era. In this era, everyone does it at night. He does not have this concept. After that, the spirit was a little worse.

Knowing that it is not appropriate to do so, Wei Guangde can only work hard at home, otherwise it will be difficult to write a letter from home next time.

Today Wei Guangde only left the palace when he was in Yuwang's mansion, because he still had a banquet with his colleagues, so naturally he couldn't go home right away.

But at the banquet, Wei Guangde accidentally heard a piece of news that Li Donghua once again impeached Wu Shan before the San Yamen.

After hearing Wu Shan hand over the notebook this morning, Wei Guangde wondered whether Li Ke would play in time this time, so as not to be punished innocently like last time.

"Master Li's action this time is quite decisive."

Wei Guangde smiled and said to the person who told the news, his words caused everyone to burst into laughter.

The fact that Li Donghua was fined before has already been spread in the court, and everyone knows that the punishment was incurred because Wu Shan was evil to the emperor.

However, after all the laughs, Wei Guangde also realized that Gao Gong's plan this time might be in vain.

The punishment after the last impeachment, most people in the DPRK and Central Committee thought that it should be over. No one expected that Wu Shantoutie would continue to admonish him at this time, and Li Ke also reacted very quickly this time to impeach.

Obviously, the process of this impeachment is much faster than before, which also indicates that if Emperor Jiajing really plans to change people, the time for Wu Shan to leave office will be very close.

Gao Gong still wants to grab two positions, is there time?

The resignation of officials at the level of Wu Shan is generally not sudden, and is often brewed for a long time. There is no such thing as the emperor making a sudden decision and immediately promulgating a decree.

The Beijing officials discussed Wu Shan in private, and Wu Shan who returned to the mansion naturally knew about it through his disciples.

For such a result, Wu Shan seemed to have expected it a long time ago, and did not show any surprise.

After the disciples had left, Wu Shan returned to the backyard. Mrs. Wu had already learned the content of the conversation in the outer courtyard from the servants, and she was a little concerned about Wu Shan.

"Hehe, there is nothing to worry about."

Regarding Madam's worries, Wu Shan was very calm, "I just took this opportunity to rest at home for a few days. If His Majesty really convicts me, it will only make me resign from office, and there will be no other punishment."

Wu Shan chose to make an admonition here, so naturally he did a lot of mindless fuss, and he also considered possible punishments.

The most serious situation is that he has to go home by himself, that is, he loses his position and resigns, and the next best thing is to be sent to Nanjing, far away from the emperor, so that he can be out of sight and out of mind.

This may also be the wisdom of these direct ministers.

If the emperor made a mistake, he must point it out as a minister of the Ministry of Rites. This is his responsibility.

If left unchecked, future history books will not only say that the emperor is insane, but also say that the Minister of Rites at that time was a flatterer who only cared about his own future but not about etiquette.

Wu Shan also made the decision after repeated calculations, even if he keeps his reputation, he will not face unbearable punishment.

I want to be late, can Emperor Jiajing ignore it?

And Emperor Jiajing in Xiyuan Yongshou Palace was also very entangled at this time. When he saw that Wu Shan didn't know what was good or bad, and he wrote a memorial saying that he shouldn't write a Spring Prayer Ceremony and enshrine it in the Daguangdian Hall, Emperor Jiajing was really very worried. Want to punish Wu Shan.

Thank God for your blessing, what if I just write a brochure?
The Great Brightness Hall is located in the West Garden, and it is the royal pavilion. What does it have to do with you, a court official?
But anger is anger, and Wei Guangde, Wu Shan and others have the same opinion, and he also knows that if he really blames Wu Shan for this, it may not be good to write a note in his "Records" in the future.

It's not good no matter how he is dismissed, Emperor Jiajing can only consider waiting and seeing, anyway, he will not continue to promote Wu Shan, and if he is promoted to the cabinet, he will find himself to blame every day.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty, except for those who founded the country, were relatively lenient towards civil servants.

Even if Emperor Jiajing killed Xia Yan at the beginning, he did it in a fit of rage and dizziness, but as the emperor, he didn't want to show his regretful side.

However, since then, he has been very cautious about punishing important officials in the court.

As for Li Mo's death, as far as he knew, it was an accident. Li Mo died in prison due to illness.

But in the afternoon, Li Donghua's memorial to impeach Wu Shan was sent to him, and Emperor Jiajing was a little shaken.

In the morning, I was still thinking about whether to let it go, and after some time, I found Wu Shan's wrong place and dealt with it. Now someone handed me a knife, but the reason was not sufficient, and it was not enough to punish Wu Shan.

Suddenly, Emperor Jiajing thought of Wu Peng's memoir a month ago, saying that the position of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials was vacant, and then thought that if Wu Shan was disposed of, wouldn't there be two important official positions vacant.

Emperor Jiajing didn't have a good impression of Wu Peng. It was said that Wu Peng was in the Ministry of Officials, but the Ministry of Officials obeyed Yan Shifan in all promotions of officials, and did not dare to be self-reliant. For this, Wu Shan, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, impeached him many times Wu Peng.

Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Officials.

Emperor Jiajing ignored Gao Zhong and the others who were still waiting for him to make a decision, but fell into deep thought.

Faster than Wei Guangde imagined, at this time Emperor Jiajing was already reconsidering the new court structure.

The administration of the Ming court was mainly carried out through the six ministries, so the appointment of officials from the six ministries was very important, even more important than filling the cabinet ministers.

Emperor Jiajing also knew a little about Wu Peng's deeds, and he reluctantly allowed him to stay in office only to ensure the majesty of Yan Song's cabinet. In fact, it was also to ensure the smooth execution of the government affairs of the court.

There is also Ouyang Bijin, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, who also resigned many times, seeing that the cabinet also needs to be replaced.

After thinking for a long time, after Gao Zhong and others waited for a long time, Emperor Jiajing finally made his own decision.

"Find out Wu Peng's last memorial."

Emperor Jiajing told Huang Jin that at that time he adopted the memorial to stay in China without giving any instructions.

The memorials are kept in Yongshou Palace, so naturally Huang Jin is in charge of keeping them.

Huang Jin took the order, and not long after, he took Wu Peng's memorabilia and handed it to Emperor Jiajing.

He opened it and saw that it was the memorabilia that Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials asked to make up for, and he handed it to Gao Zhong in front of him and said: "The draft decree, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials, does not need to be able to push it, Yuan Wei changed it to the Ministry of Officials. Left servant."

After finishing speaking, he turned his head and told Huang Jin who was beside him, "Leave Li Donghua's impeachment memorial."

"Yes."

Huang Jin agreed, picked up the memorial on the imperial book case and stepped aside, while Gao Zhong returned to his seat with Wu Peng's memorial, and quickly wrote down Emperor Jiajing's instructions.

Although they didn't know what the emperor was thinking before, both Huang Jin and Gao Zhong felt sensitively that there might be a big change in the Ming Dynasty.

"How is Zhou Yan's body?"

Before the servants below continued to read the following memorial, Emperor Jiajing seemed to have just remembered, and asked again.

Huang Jin, who had just returned, took another half step forward and replied: "I'm afraid Zhou Yushi's body is going to die, the imperial doctor said."

"say what?"

Displeased with Huang Jin's hesitation, Emperor Jiajing asked.

"At most three months, I still can't move. If I return to my hometown to recuperate at this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave Beizhili."

Huang Jin quickly replied.

Zhou Yan, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, is from Jishui, Jiangxi. He resigned several times last year due to his poor health. However, at that time, Emperor Jiajing had not considered a major change of the six ministries and nine ministers, so he did not approve it. There is also the cabinet. Lu Ben, Minister of the Cabinet, and Ouyang Bijin, Secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

Since the end of last year, Zhou Yan has been unable to manage the council due to illness, but he never expected that Zhou Yan's illness has reached this point in the past two months.

"It's old and should be replaced."

Emperor Jiajing whispered casually, then opened his mouth, but in the end he still didn't say anything, he just waved his hand at Gao Zhong, motioning them to continue reading the memorial.

Li Donghua's memorabilia was retained by Emperor Jiajing. In just a few days, the emperor's attitude towards Wu Shan had a 180-degree reversal. what happened.

What surprised all the officials even more was that Yuan Wei was directly promoted to Zuo Shilang from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of Officials.

Yuan Wei moved from the Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu to the Ministry of Rites last year, and was ordered to stay in the Ministry within a month of taking charge of the affairs of the Academy.

Yuan Wei, who had only stayed in the Ministry of Rites for a month, moved to the Ministry of Officials after he had worked hard and calculated. His speed on the way to the cabinet can be said to have created history, and there is no official who can be promoted faster than him.

Although Yuan Wei has not entered the cabinet yet, his official career is the standard imperial path to enter the cabinet, so it is not up to others to want to get into the wrong.

(End of this chapter)