The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Inside the hearing room.

When Cheng Minzheng saw the victory report from the Northwest, Lu Wan didn't say anything to him, but just gave him a look, meaning that you can do whatever you want.

Then Cheng Minzheng hurried back to the cabinet duty room. He wanted to inform the cabinet members of the news as soon as possible, even though he could not get the trust of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang at all.

cabinet.

When Cheng Minzheng brought back the news, Liu Jian and Li Dongyang were still discussing how to impeach Wang Qiong. Cheng Minzheng didn't care about what they were thinking and said directly, "You two, Xinjianbo sent troops from Datong. He didn't go through the interior of the pass, but through the grassland outside the pass. He marched more than 900 miles across the grassland and attacked the invading troops of Huamachi Tatar from behind. He has won the battle."

Liu Jian's face suddenly turned ugly.

Li Dongyang asked, "Yesterday, the report said that Liu Jin and his troops were surrounded by the Tatars outside the Great Wall, and the Tatars were on high alert. How many troops did Wang Boan send to launch a surprise attack on the rear?"

Obviously Li Dongyang didn't believe this was true.

In this battle, both Wang Qiong and Wang Shouren were turned into invisible persons and were impeached by civil officials. How come one of them suddenly jumped out?
Cheng Minzheng said: "The number of soldiers and horses is still unknown. There will be reports of victory later. It is estimated that it is not large. I heard that they did not bring any artillery with them. They relied on light cavalry to cross the grassland. Each soldier carried a musket and fire bombs, and they did not encounter any obstacles along the way."

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang looked at each other, and both of them felt that the changes in this world were too mysterious.

I had hoped that the situation in the northwest would change through this battle, but now I feel that everything seems to be in vain.

Not only has nothing changed, but it's even worse than before.

Cheng Minzheng said: "The victory report was sent directly to the Supreme Court. In this battle, the Supreme Court was behind the scenes, and I did not participate too much. However, the Martial Arts Academy has now restored its old system, and many generals are behind the scenes to discuss military and political affairs in the northwest. I don't know much about the details of this battle."

Li Dongyang said: "Keqin, let me ask you, are the Tatars now safe and sound, or are they in a tough fight?"

"Oh? What's the difference?" Cheng Minzheng asked.

Li Dongyang sighed, "The Tatars marched straight in from Huamachi and invaded the territory of our Great Ming, causing wars everywhere in the northwest. The Tatars have been wreaking havoc for nearly half a month. Even if our Great Ming soldiers have a small victory on the local battlefield, I am afraid that we have lost the overall battle situation."

Cheng Minzheng frowned slightly and said, "Binzhi, do you want us to win or lose?"

Li Dongyang said with a hint of annoyance: "Just give a direct answer and don't worry about my opinion."

Cheng Minzheng said: "Huamachi is the entrance for the Tatars to invade. The Tatars have stationed a large number of troops at Huamachi, which has tied down our troops guarding Huamachi. If the siege of Huamachi can be lifted, the Tatars will lose the gateway for a safe withdrawal. The Tatars are trapped in a pocket formation. We should win this battle."

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "That's not the case. The Tatars' purpose of invading is just to plunder. It depends on where they retreat. Now that the war has not yet ended, it is too early to say whether we will win or lose."

"hehe."

Cheng Minzheng smiled bitterly.

He could tell that Li Dongyang didn't expect anything good from the Northwestern soldiers, and perhaps a defeat would be more in Li Dongyang's interest.

Liu Jian also put down the documents on his hand and said, "We will discuss this matter later. Now we have only hastily submitted a document to report the victory. His Majesty is not in Beijing, so who knows what changes will happen later? Keqin, you should come back more often recently. There are many official duties here, so there is no need to stay there."

"Okay, I got it, I got it." Cheng Minzheng just agreed verbally.

After conveying the message, Cheng Minzheng still left on the pretext of having to deal with matters at the Hanlin Academy and no longer cared about the matters at hand.

……

……

As soon as Cheng Minzheng left, Li Dongyang slammed several memorials on the table. The suppressed emotions in his heart seemed to be about to burst out at this moment.

Liu Jian said: "If everything changes as before, there will be no room for maneuver."

Li Dongyang said gloomily: "If we try to suppress the matter now, will we still have a chance?"

"Binzhi, although there are a large number of generals in the northwest, they are basically not under our control. Now those who control the military power in the northwest are basically people cultivated by Zhang Bingkuan. In the past few years, even several traditional meritorious officials have been impeached and dismissed. If there is no change, then we can only take the most extreme and harsh approach."

Liu Jian was also telling Li Dongyang that if there was no other way, the only option was to physically eliminate it.

Li Dongyang sat down, a little dazed. It was obvious that he had not yet recovered from the "shock" of this incident.

Liu Jian said in a comforting tone: "If you bully the weak and fear the strong, it will only make the situation worse. Although your majesty favors Zhang Bingkuan now, he has also reserved many things. Let's find some responsible people, treat them as brave men who are not afraid of treacherous flatterers, and let them step forward to give it a try."

Who said that since the emperor does not allow the impeachment of Zhang Zhou, we will not impeach him?
It's just to make people rush forward and fight the emperor until the end.

Li Dongyang said: "Recently, there are fewer people in the court criticizing Zhang Bingkuan."

Liu Jian said: "His rise to power will inevitably ruin the future of many people. How many guests have visited your house in the past? How many are there now? Don't they worry about their future? Zhang Bingkuan deliberately avoided interacting with his colleagues in the court. This is his strength, as he wants to maintain relationships with his ministers and not form cliques. But this is also his weakness. Not having friends means that no one will regard him as a backer."

Li Dongyang immediately understood.

Because people in the court had little communication with Zhang Zhou, they all felt that they were not the same kind of people as Zhang Zhou. Some people who were trying to climb up the ladder would naturally think that Zhang Zhou was a stumbling block.

Many people don't dare to fight, but there are also those who are not afraid of death, which makes them rush forward.

There is no need to care about the life and death of these people anymore, nor to persuade them to consider the overall situation and their own safety. Just fan the flames one by one and let them continue to impeach Zhang Zhou.

This is to achieve the goal of three people making a tiger.

……

……

Cheng Minzheng arrived at the Hanlin Academy, but closed the door and refused to see anyone.

This incident was also a bit of a blow to him, mainly because the reactions of Liu Jian and Li Dongyang were far beyond his expectations, which made him feel disheartened.

At this moment, the tutor Liu Chun knocked on the door and said, "Sir, Minister Lu of the Ministry of Revenue wants to see you."

Liu Chun had just been promoted from Hanlin editor to imperial tutor. He would usually go to the Eastern Palace to give lectures to the crown prince. Because he spoke in a humorous and witty manner, he was recently favored by the crown prince, and he had always been a good member of the Hanlin Academy.

Cheng Minzheng came out personally to greet Lu Wan.

The two of them arrived at the bachelor's room of the Hanlin Academy. Lu Wan said with emotion, "I never had the chance to come in and visit before. This is really a great place." Cheng Minzheng brought some tea and sighed, "It's just a place for idle people."

Lu Wan smiled and said, "Master Cheng went back to the cabinet and explained everything to the two cabinet elders, right?"

"Ah."

Cheng Minzheng nodded.

Lu Wan said: "Then I guess the two elders won't be too happy, and they may even feel that this is a bolt from the blue for them."

Although Lu Wan was right, Cheng Minzheng still said sternly: "We are both officials in the same palace, why do we need to mock and ridicule each other?"

Lu Wan sighed, "I've expected this. Duke Cai submitted a memorial earlier, saying that some people in the court only care about the scholars, not the people in power. I was deeply touched by this. There are so many officials in the court, all of whom serve for a purpose, but in the end, who will really care about the people in power?"

Cheng Minzheng didn't say anything for a moment.

"I just got the news that His Majesty is on his way back to Beijing. When he came back, I heard that Hanlin Academician Wang would join the cabinet, but I don't know who the next cabinet minister to retire and return home will be." Lu Wan said.

Cheng Minzheng said: "It doesn't have to be anyone else, just me."

Lu Wan asked, "So, is Scholar Cheng thinking about the scholars or the whole country?"

Cheng Minzheng frowned and said, "Quan Qing, what is your purpose in saying this? If you are here to sow discord, then you don't need to say anything more."

Obviously, from the beginning, Cheng Minzheng did not regard Lu Wan as "one of his own". He still wanted to regard himself as a minister from the Hanlin Academy, willing to serve Liu Jian and Li Dongyang. Unfortunately, the current situation is that Liu Jian and Li Dongyang do not like him, but Lu Wan is always trying to get along with him.

This made Cheng Minzheng feel from the bottom of his heart that Lu Wan was using him to fight against the cabinet.

Especially regarding Xie Qian's matter, Cheng Minzheng still had some opinions about Lu Wan.

After all, if the Shangtingchu and Yanwutang hadn't attacked Xie Qian, Xie Qian wouldn't have fallen to the point of being a "cashier" in Binhai City.

Lu Wan said: "I have requested permission to withdraw from the hearing room."

Cheng Minzheng said: "It is useless to just ask for permission. His Majesty will not agree."

"You are wrong." Lu Wan said, "Since its establishment, the Shangting Office has been based on a rotation system. No one can stay in the Shangting Office for a long time, and only people with ability and virtue can stay. This is different from the cabinet. You cabinet elders have always been promoted based on seniority. Unless you retire from the court, once you enter the cabinet, you will be a cabinet elder for life."

Cheng Minzheng frowned and asked, "How do you know that His Majesty will let you withdraw?"

Lu Wan said, "After His Majesty returns to the capital, he will adjust the members of the Shangting Office. There are currently four people in the Shangting Office, and I'm afraid even Cheng Xueshi will have to be replaced. Wang Xueshi, who is about to enter the cabinet, should be appointed concurrently to the Shangting Office. Duke Cai, also known as Zhang Butang from the Ministry of War, may be in charge of the Shangting Office after he returns to the capital."

Cheng Minzheng asked: "Where did you hear all this?"

Lu Wan smiled and said, "It's not a secret, there's no need to tell anyone."

Cheng Minzheng thought for a moment, and then said to himself, "Zhang Bingkuan may return to Beijing to become the Minister of Personnel. Given his busy schedule, will he take on the job of the Shangting Office? He never likes to move forward and prefers to stay behind the scenes."

"It's different now." Lu Wan said, "I also heard that the person who will be promoted to the Minister of Personnel this time is Minister Lin of the Ministry of Rites. After Minister Zhang returns to the court this time, he will also be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue."

"What did you say?" Cheng Minzheng asked in surprise.

Lu Wan said: "I may be promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"What about Wang Dehua?" Cheng Minzheng was surprised at Lu Wan's well-informedness and asked hurriedly.

Lu Wan shook his head and said, "I don't know. He may be promoted to Chief Justice and continue to handle the affairs of the three borders. Or he may be transferred back to the capital to take charge of the affairs of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Who can say for sure?"

Cheng Minzheng looked puzzled and said, "Wang Dehua really didn't make any significant contributions in the northwest this time. If he did, shouldn't he be the Minister of Revenue after returning to the court? If he didn't make any significant contributions, he can only be the Left Censor-in-Chief, which is indeed a downgrade."

Lu Wan said: "That's probably the case."

Cheng Minzheng asked: "Who left the cabinet?"

Before, Cheng Minzheng thought that Lu Wan was here to sow discord, but after listening to a series of "inside information" from Lu Wan, he began to feel that Lu Wan knew a lot of details that were in line with common sense, and it didn't seem like he was here to make fun of him.

Lu Wan shook his head and said, "It won't be Master Cheng, it will be either Lord Liu or Lord Li. I don't know. But one of them will retreat, this is a nine out of ten thing."

Cheng Minzheng asked: "Then what is your purpose in telling me this?"

Lu Wan said, "Mr. Cheng, you are now one step away from becoming the Prime Minister. In a year or two, you may be in charge of the cabinet affairs. Do I need a reason to come and talk to you?"

Cheng Minzheng said coldly: "Quan Qing, I admit that you are very resourceful and capable, but you should also know where your shortcomings are."

"Yes." Lu Wan nodded and said, "I am still young and it is difficult for me to win the support of the court. This is why I cannot stay in the court for long."

Cheng Minzheng said: "Also, you are too scheming!"

Lu Wan didn't like hearing this.

Cheng Minzheng seemed to be determined to say some unpleasant advice, and continued: "You will definitely offend too many people in the court, but you also know who can bring you power. You want to win me over and let me help you, but I'm afraid it's too difficult. I am too traditional in my thinking, and I don't like to have too much contact with people like you who are scheming."

It's just like saying, don't hang out with me anymore, we'll go our separate ways from now on.

This is extremely rude.

Lu Wan was not angry, and chuckled, "Master Cheng, you are a noble man, would you bother with someone like me?"

Cheng Minzheng said helplessly: "At first I also thought that I would just spend a few days in the court, and after retiring, I could enjoy my old age. The imperial examination in the year of Jiwei changed my mind too much. I don't know why I always think about some things that are beyond what I have seen and heard, which makes me want to retire."

Lu Wan said: "If Scholar Cheng wants to withdraw, it will be a loss for the court."

Cheng Minzheng ignored Lu Wan's words and continued, "If Zhang Bingkuan joins the cabinet, I can let him go at any time. I used to think that he was too aggressive and too easy to offend people. But after experiencing what happened in the past few years, I feel that without him, the Ming Dynasty would be stagnant."

Lu Wan smiled and said, "I totally agree."

Cheng Minzheng looked over and said fiercely, "You are a person cultivated by Zhang Bingkuan. I can think that he is your mentor, but I don't recognize you as a good horse. You have been in the court recently and interacted with many ministers. You think I don't know, but in fact I know everything. Zhang Bingkuan doesn't want to form a party, but you want to form a party in exchange for reputation in the court. It's not a good thing. What I can say is... you should take care of yourself." (End of this chapter)