The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

port.

Large ships are going to sea one after another. This time they are not dispatching troops to Liaodong, but to the New World. It is different from the last time they sailed from Zhejiang. This time there are six large ships alone, together with some medium and large ones. There are more than 4,300 ships equipped with soldiers, horses, sailors, warriors, etc. in total.

Zhu Feng accompanied Zhang Zhou to watch the expedition ceremony.

As the cannon fire ended, the fleet officially embarked on its journey. Among the people accompanying the ship this time, the one with the highest civilian rank was Lin Ting, one of Zhang Zhou's brothers-in-law, who had recently been promoted to the rank of Yuanwailang of the Ministry of Rites.

In addition to Guo Ang, the commander of Jinyiwei, the person with the highest military official position was Sun Jixian, the uncle of Yingcheng.

The eunuch who oversees the army is Li Yong, the royal eunuch of the Zhang Yong faction.

The purpose of going to sea this time is very simple. It is to plunder, not to go to the South Sea, but to go directly to the Western Sea. The planned time to go to sea is ten months, and the time at sea is more than two months when I go, and when I come back because With a full load of cargo, the time may be extended to more than three months.

"Brother Zhang, why don't you wait until the weather warms up before leaving? It's so cold, so I'm afraid the soldiers won't adapt." Zhu Feng stood on the high platform. When the wind blew, he almost fell off the high platform.

After experiencing a battle in the ice and snow, he had a deep fear of the cold. The feeling of chasing the Tatars in the ice and snow was unforgettable to him, and thinking about it would make him sleepless at night.

Zhang Zhou said: "Before summer comes, there will be big winds and waves in the sea in front of you. Under the strong wind and rain, with our current ships, even if they are not completely silent, I am afraid the losses will be considerable."

Zhu Feng asked: "Is it a hurricane? I heard that when there is a hurricane, even stone houses can be blown away. The boat in front of you is indeed not good, but you can't just calculate the weather and let them avoid it?"

Zhang Zhou glanced at Zhu Feng.

This is probably the misunderstanding of him by the world. It feels like he can figure out anything with his fingers.

"My hexagram is only useful in the Ming Dynasty. It is not so effective outside." Zhang Zhou said, "Furthermore, if we sail for several months at a time, even if I tell them exactly where there is a wind disaster, they will definitely be able to sail on the sea." Identify the specific location and make reasonable avoidance?”

"This……"

Zhu Feng thought for a while and admitted her mistake sincerely, "I made a mistake. Indeed, as Brother Zhang said, this is too unpredictable. It would be better to leave early. After all, His Majesty is also looking forward to it... If I can bring him again... It would be nice to have a few million taels of silver back.”

Zhang Zhou looked at the ships receding on the sea and sighed: "Zhijie, do you want to go overseas?"

"I don't want to go." Zhu Feng said, "It's too far. I will definitely die of suffocation if I float on the sea for so long. I still like prosperous and prosperous places. I originally planned to return to the capital, but now it seems that staying here is not bad. "

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Zhu Feng smiled and said as if he was very smart: "Fortunately you didn't ask me this before yesterday, but now, otherwise I would be scared to death, and going to sea would be like imprisoning me. Now that the ship is gone, I don't have to worry about this anymore. "

Zhang Zhou patted him on the shoulder and said sincerely: "Zhijie, it's coming soon. The next fleet will set off in about a month. If you are determined to make contributions to the Ming Dynasty, or even conquer overseas lands, I can make it happen." You. In addition, Liaodong also needs experienced and qualified generals, Prince Consort Cui and Tang Bohu are waiting for you."

"No need." Zhu Feng was so frightened that he said, "I remembered that I still have something to do, so I left first. If you need anything later, just ask someone to tell me."

Zhu Fengfei also seemed to be running away, as if he was afraid that if he said something bad next, he would be captured by Zhang Zhou and used as cannon fodder at sea.

……

……

The third day after the new year.

The third day of the first lunar month.

Wang Shi, the Minister of Punishment, went to visit Li Dongyang and told the Ministry of Punishment the news.

"It is said that Mr. Xie Ge has been sent to Yongping Mansion in the east, together with his wife and children, except for the second son Xie Pi, the rest of them have left." Wang Shi said, "From the beginning to the end, both Dongchang and Jinyiwei have left. I didn’t say hello to the Ministry of Punishment. Only people from Dali Temple went in to ask about it. I’m afraid this case won’t be brought to court.”

Li Dongyang said: "In other words, there is no change?"

Wang Shi said: "How can we change the situation? It is actually a good thing to be exempted from the death penalty and be exiled. It is not even exile now, it is just being assigned as an official. There is still a period of time. Even if it will be harder in the next few years, as long as it lasts If you endure it, Mr. Xie Ge can spend his old age in peace."

Li Dongyang said coldly: "What happened the day before yesterday, why did so few people from your criminal department go there?"

"Lord Li, aren't you asking even though you already know the answer? Even within the Ministry of Justice, there are different opinions on Lord Xie's case. It's not that everyone thinks Lord Xie is guilty, but they think the person Lord Xie advocates impeaching is not a big villain. Or maybe it's just a coincidence that Zhang Rui, the son of the Marquis of Pinglu and the Duke of Ying, has made military achievements. Isn't this too much?"

Wang Shi said, and couldn't help but sigh, "Your Majesty asked the factory guards to scare you again, and no one was willing to come forward."

Li Dongyang said: "Is it possible that in both the government and the public, there are only a group of sycophants left?"

Wang Shi said: "Mr. Li Ge, to be fair, do you really think Mr. Xie Ge was not at fault at all in this matter?"

Being questioned face to face by Wang Shi, Li Dongyang didn't know how to answer.

If it had been anyone else, he would have simply said that Xie Qian was right, but Wang Shi was not strictly a member of their faction. After all, the Minister of Punishment they had previously favored was Min Gui, the former censor of Zuodu. Even if Min Gui was They had conflicts with the emperor on certain issues and were not appreciated by the emperor. They also thought it was Dai Shan who was the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing at that time.

As a result, Wang Shi stood out.

If he was not someone they cultivated and recommended, there would be a gap in their eyes, and they did not take Wang Shi seriously at first. After all, the Ministry of Punishment was the yamen least involved in political disputes in the court, and only those who broke the law could be placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Punishment. , and the Ministry of Punishment is mainly responsible for prisons all over the world.

Who would have thought that the harmonious relationship between monarch and ministers was broken by Zhang Zhou, and Xie Qian, who was determined not to be restricted by the law, would become a prisoner. This gave Wang Shi the opportunity to show his face.

Wang Shi also felt that his question was too rash, and said hurriedly: "I don't think Mr. Xie Ge is guilty, but he has faults, which cannot be denied. From Chenghua to the present, there are not many courtiers who have been convicted of crimes. There are many, and there are even fewer people who have been convicted for their words. If you have to touch your majesty's back, no matter who it is... I'm afraid it's not something that the Ministry of Punishment can handle. "

Li Dongyang said: "So you want to watch from the other side regarding Yu Qiao's matter?"

"No." Wang Shi said, "Look at it now, the people in the court are still roughly the same as before, and even the Ministry of War has not changed much. Can you say that being promoted to the rank of minister, you must be a treacherous minister? I think Not necessarily. If some conflicts that have to be brought to the table are eliminated, things will probably be fine."

Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "Some conflicts do not have to be presented on the table. If they are kept undisclosed, they will cause serious trouble sooner or later."

Wang Shi said: "Can't we mention it again when we are in trouble? I just want to say that many people just want to live in peace and quiet for a few days. Even my colleagues in the court don't want to bother. Now Mr. Xie Ge It has been released, and the storm has subsided. If it continues to develop, I'm afraid it will be... Oh! I really don't know what to say. "

Li Dongyang frowned and said: "So you came today to ask the cabinet to stop taking action on certain matters?" Wang Shi sighed: "You cabinet ministers have your own opinions on major affairs in the court, and we can't. I don’t want to influence His Majesty’s opinions, and I don’t want to influence your opinions. I just want to ask you to see that in the past few years in the government and in the public sector... life has not been easy, so I will put things aside for the time being and let His Majesty take care of them. Just relax..."

Li Dongyang frowned.

Only now did he probably understand that the cabinet was making quite a show of fuss over Xie Qian's affairs and to impeach Zhang Zhou. Even the emperor knew about it, and even the emperor secretly stepped in to stop it...

He thought that the government and the public would work together like them, but he didn't know that most people in the government and the government were tired of this kind of internal fighting. Everyone just wanted to live a quiet life, preferably the kind without From a sectarian perspective, everyone only needs to consider their usual official duties, and there is no need to consider issues such as party strife.

Wang Shi said: "I heard before that the Minister of War will not return to the capital within the next month or two."

"Impossible." Li Dongyang said, "His Majesty intends to let him preside over the spring palace, or he will return to Beijing soon."

"Mr. Li Ge, are you afraid that Zhang Shangshu will recruit more disciples? But... those are all disciples of the emperor. Even if he comes to preside over the examination, he will not break the rules, right? He is also a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, so this You and I both know it.”

"What kind of bachelor is he? It's just a preparation for His Majesty to let him join the cabinet!" Li Dongyang was a little angry.

Zhang Zhou is a bachelor, and the next step may be to become a bachelor, and he will be on an equal footing with him.

No matter how open-minded a cabinet minister is, he cannot tolerate that someone who has only been in the government for only a few years can climb to such a high position. Three years can surpass others' decades of hardship.

Wang Shi nodded and said: "So, I can't persuade Mr. Li Ge. I just bring some people's wishes. There are many people who want to visit today, but they are not allowed to see them, so I have to convey them. I just hope Recently...the ruling and opposition parties have become more peaceful."

Li Dongyang said: "What is this? Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Wang Shi said: "This is all."

With that said, Wang Shi stood up, cupped his hands and said, "There are a lot of things in the Xingbu in spring, or if there is anything that doesn't satisfy you, just mention it. It's just that your Majesty doesn't seem to want the Xingbu to be controlled by others at the moment. I hope Mr. Li Ge can understand me and say goodbye."

……

……

Wang Shi took the initiative to leave.

Li Dongyang saw him off for a few steps, and then watched Wang Shi leave.

The annoyance on his face was also obvious. Now, even the six ministries of the DPRK and the Central Committee have begun to seem to be inseparable from the cabinet. Wang Shi even came to "warn" himself, or threaten him, on behalf of many people in the DPRK, so that he should not stir up conflicts. .

This is different from before...

OK.

Li Dongyang is also wondering, who gave you the courage to think that you can take charge of everything as the Minister of the Six Bubu? Dare you make irresponsible remarks on what a cabinet minister has done?
"How many people have come to send greetings recently?" Li Dongyang asked Zhike on the side.

Zhike said: "There were quite a few years ago. After the first day of the Lunar New Year and the banquet at my house was cancelled, no one came... in the past two days."

"How many have come?" Li Dongyang asked with a frown.

"No one. Except Wang Shangshu just now." Zhike said.

Li Dongyang took a breath.

In his opinion, even if he canceled the New Year's Day banquet, others would not be so "sensible" that they wouldn't come to visit him.

Their absence can only mean one problem. Now both officials and scholars in the government and the public have grasped the direction of the trend... This trend is very unfavorable to traditional civil servants, especially to him and Liu Jian.

"Help me invite Master Ma to come over." Li Dongyang said, "Bring my invitation and be sure to invite the person over. Tell him that I have something important to discuss with him."

……

……

Li Dongyang didn't go to Ma Wensheng himself, he just asked someone to invite him.

This seems very rude.

Even the cabinet ministers are theoretically on an equal footing with the Minister of Personnel. From court officials to conferring titles to titles, they are indeed at the same level. However, in the past, others would think that the power of the cabinet was higher than that of the Minister of Personnel. However, In fact, in terms of actual power, cabinet ministers should be far below the Minister of Personnel.

Ma Wensheng showed some respect by being invited and entering the mansion through the main entrance, which also gave people the impression that this incident did not affect the relationship between the cabinet and the Minister of Personnel.

"Binzhi, you..." Ma Wensheng wanted to talk to Li Dongyang when he saw him.

Call me over, feelings don't give face, right? What's the matter with you that you can't come to tell in person?

Li Dongyang said: "Yu Qiao was sent to Zhang Bingkuan and went to the seaside. The case will not go through the three judicial departments. This matter is settled like this."

Ma Wensheng frowned and said, "Is this the reason? It's really settled... I'm afraid it's not. His Majesty just put the case aside temporarily. If there is any introduction, Your Majesty may bring it up again."

"This is also what I'm worried about." Li Dongyang said, "Can Yu Qiao be an official for three years? Also, if he is sent to Zhang Bingkuan as an official, he will obey Zhang Bingkuan. Your Majesty will not give Yu Qiao face, for fear that there will be something unknown behind his back. Secret. Or inhumane.”

Ma Wensheng sighed: "If you think about it, you will know that His Majesty wants Yu Qiao to understand Zhang Bingkuan's suffering. Only by serving as an official under Zhang Bingkuan can he empathize with it."

"No." Li Dongyang said, "Yu Qiao will not have any sympathy with Zhang Bingkuan, and His Majesty will not be so stupid as to think that Yu Qiao will change. I think there are other reasons."

"Then tell me..." Ma Wensheng said.

"I'm afraid that Your Majesty will take Yu Qiao as a hostage, and then use Zhang Bingkuan to join the cabinet, or replace you, which will affect the court situation. If we do anything against Zhang Bingkuan, Yu Qiao's situation will be worrying." Li Dongyang said with a cold expression.

Ma Wensheng said: "Really? Does that mean that you have to endure it for three years until Yu Qiao returns home smoothly, and then you will regain your prejudice against Zhang Bingkuan? Binzhi, don't get into trouble, maybe from His Majesty to Zhang Bingkuan, so It’s not as complicated as yours. This court is His Majesty’s court after all.” (End of Chapter)