The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Gululu"

The sound of carriage wheels grinding against the ground was heard, and Wei Guangde sat quietly in the car.

This time he was going to Xiyuan, where Emperor Jiajing wanted to summon him.

Wei Guangde knew very well that after this summons, he might have a chance to improve his official position.

But he was not very sure. After all, he had just been appointed an official not long ago, and there was still a qualification in the officialdom.

It's okay to be promoted if you have ability and merit, but you must also have certain qualifications and cannot be promoted by rocket.

Of course, if there is good intention, as long as it is not excessive, ordinary ministers will not strongly oppose it.

The carriage drove through the bustling streets of the outer city of the capital, entered the inner city from Chongwen Gate, turned west on Chang'an Street, passed Chengtian Gate, turned around after arriving at Baochao Division, and continued along an alley.

In fact, after the carriage entered Chang'an Street, they had already left the bustling streets of the capital behind. Both sides of the street were either government offices or the imperial city. Without the hustle and bustle, only solemnity remained.

Wei Guangde is very familiar with this place, having just passed by the gate of the Hanlin Academy.

After the carriage turned from the alley next to Baochaosi, a sense of tranquility came to the face.

The carriage window was not sealed, and Wei Guangde could still see the beautiful scenery outside the window.

Within the red wall is the legendary Xiyuan, which will also be famous in later generations.

The young eunuch who delivered the order was about the same age as Wei Guangde. After chatting, Wei Guangde found out that his name was Chen Ju. He was nineteen years old, two years older than him. He had been in the palace for ten years.

Those who can be sent out to deliver orders must be people with backing in the palace.

When Wei Guangde watched historical dramas in the past, the Civil Service Group was about the master-disciple relationship, while the Eunuch series seemed to be about godfathers and godsons.

Wei Guangde was very curious, whose godson was this Chen Ju, Huang Jin or who?

The two of them were chatting casually along the way, and Wei Guangde also knew about it. After he was elected to the palace, he was assigned to serve in the Supervisor of Ceremonies under the name of Gao Zhong, the eunuch Bingbi.

Supervisor of Ceremonies, this is a popular position in the palace. I can only say that this brother is very lucky.

In order to facilitate the inner court's management of eunuchs and palace affairs, many yamen were set up in the palace in the early Ming Dynasty, commonly known as the "Twelve Prisons".

The Twelve Supervisors include the Si Li Jian, the Internal Official Supervisor, the Imperial Supervisor, the Si She Jian, the Royal Horse Supervisor, the Divine Palace Supervisor, the Shangshan Supervisor, the Shang Bao Supervisor, the Yin Shou Supervisor, the Zhidian Supervisor, the Shang Yi Supervisor, and the Duzhi Supervisor. There are twelve prisons, each with a eunuch in charge.

The internal structure of the Twelve Prisons is actually similar to that of various yamen in the imperial court. There are eunuch titles such as admiral, palm seal, Bingbi, and attendant. The admiral eunuch is in charge of all etiquette, punishment names, management, and duties in Lihuang City.

For people outside the palace, it seems that all the chamberlains in the palace are eunuchs. In fact, they are not. Eunuchs refer to those with high grades. The twelve eunuchs are the eunuch yamen. In fact, only the eunuchs who work in these yamen are eunuchs. eunuch.

There are three main powers of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. One is to approve and respond to memorials and propagate edicts. This is the most important function of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

The second is to be the general manager of eunuch affairs. The Si Lijian not only occupies the position of "first department" in each eunuch agency, but also actually occupies the position of general manager and commander of other eunuch agencies. In fact, many Si Lijian and eunuchs are also in charge of eunuch affairs. According to the authority of the admiral, the admiral here is not the admiral of the East Factory, but the admiral of the "Twelve Supervisors".

The third is to take into account other important official positions. At that time, some other important official positions in the eunuch system, such as the admiral of Dongchang and the garrison of Nanjing, were either held exclusively by the Secretary of Ceremony or as a foreign missionary, which was also part of the powers of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. important aspects.

It can be said that the Supervisor of Ceremonies is the most important power department in the palace both internally and externally. The internal minister is the Chief Supervisor of Ceremonies because he has the right to "praise the red".

Wei Guangde chatted with Chen Ju for a long time and found that this man was quite honest and honest, completely different from his impression that eunuchs should be harsh, vicious and cunning.

After chatting with him for a while, Wei Guangde understood clearly the past experiences of his godfather Gao Zhong.

Gao Zhong has been brilliant before. Although he is still the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of the ceremony, he was the eunuch of the palm seal before.

In Chen Ju's chat, he seemed to be very proud when talking about his godfather's previous history.

Gao Zhong entered the palace during the Zhengde Dynasty, but made his fortune during the Jiajing Dynasty.

After Emperor Jiajing came to Beijing and ascended the throne, Gao Zhong was selected to serve as a valet to Emperor Jiajing, and he began to rise rapidly.

In the second year of Jiajing, he was given a crown and hat. In the third year of Jiajing, he was moved to the right eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor. In the sixth year of Jiajing, he was promoted to the eunuch of the Royal Horse Supervisor and was given a python robe. This shows that Emperor Jiajing trusted him and directly transferred the palace armed forces to the Royal Horse. The prison was handed over to him.

In the 11th year of Jiajing's reign, the internal officials were replaced by eunuchs who were in charge of supervisors. Because Emperor Jiajing was succeeded by a side branch, he did not dare to enjoy himself wantonly at first. It was not until the throne was consolidated that he began to build palaces, and Gao Zhong was the person in charge.

During the construction process, Gao Zhong also did a good job and was praised by Emperor Jiajing from time to time.

In the early Jiajing period, Emperor Jiajing once banned the awarding of titles to Yin officials, but by this time he also began to reward those who had contributed to him, and Gao Zhong received constant rewards for this.

Gao Zhong held the position of eunuch and eunuch. Because of the construction of palaces and other projects, he had his brothers, nephews and other relatives awarded titles by Yinguan four times. He became the eunuch with the most awards in the Jiajing emperor's career of more than 20 years, surpassing Huang. Jin et al.

At this time, he was re-employed by Emperor Jiajing again, and was appointed as the admiral of the 12th Regiment Battalion, and also in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor Seal and the Admiral Warriors 4th Guards Battalion.

The Jiajing Emperor directly transferred all the armed forces of the three key departments of the Ming Dynasty Palace to Gao Zhong, which was a prosperous period.

However, everything disappeared after the Gengwu Revolution in the 29th year of Jiajing.

Strictly speaking, the performance of the Beijing camp at that time was indeed very different from that of the Zhengde Dynasty thirty years ago, but the key to the problem was not in the hands of the people in charge, but because Emperor Jiajing changed the selection left by Emperor Zhengde. The rules led to the Beijing camp's combat effectiveness declining again and its rapid decline.

However, someone had to take the blame in the end, so Gao Zhong took up the blame and stepped down from the position of eunuch in the palm of the imperial horse eunuch to the eunuch in the eunuch of the ceremonial department.

At that time, there were three eunuchs named Bingbi in the Bureau of Ceremony. Gao Zhong served as the steward of the prison and could be said to be the first eunuch named Bingbi.

Of course, it was not him who had the final say as the Chief of Ceremonies, because there was Huang Jin above, and he was the eunuch of the palm seal. All criticisms had to be nodded by the eunuch of the palm seal. The duty of the eunuchs who held the pen was to sign the memorial in accordance with the emperor's wishes.

From the palm print to the pen, this can be regarded as a big fall for Gao Zhong, from the boss of the Royal Horse Supervisor to the second-ranked Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Wei Guangde was thinking of Gao Zhong and Chen Ju, the chamberlain in front of him.

It turns out that when watching costume dramas, it seems that the foreign ministers of the imperial court have to make friends with several chamberlains, so that sometimes they can help inform them and let them know the emperor's attitude towards some people and some things.

Chen Ju is an honest person, and I guess the master who takes care of him should be about the same.

Gao Zhong, after Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, has always been highly trusted.

As for the failure, this can only be said to be destiny. Even now, it seems that Emperor Jiajing is still treating him well.

Eunuch Bingbi, in fact, when Wei Guangde watched the Ming Dynasty drama, he roughly understood how it was done.

As soon as Emperor Jiajing sat down on the throne, Huang Jin or other eunuchs were reading the memorial. The emperor knocked on the chime, which represented approval and rejection. If he didn't knock, it meant he would be dismissed. These were the eunuchs who penned their pens to mark the memorial in red, and finally the memorial was approved. Huang Jin sealed it with his seal, and sent back what should be sent back, and kept what he wanted.

The people around the emperor.

Wei Guangde quickly went through it in his mind. It was worth investing and giving it a try.

Seeing that he was about to arrive at the gate of Xiyuan Palace, Wei Guangde took out a piece of paper and an ingot of five taels of silver from his arms, handed it to Chen Ju quietly, and whispered: "I'm in a hurry when I come out. I'll give my father-in-law a sip of tea with this little silver and turn around." I will prepare another generous gift for my father-in-law. I ask Eunuch Chen to forward this meeting ticket to Eunuch Gao. I heard a while ago that it was Eunuch Gao who sent me my memorial, so I am really grateful."

This was what Wei Guangde said casually. Chen Ju was too honest to be honest. Wei Guangde judged that this was not a master who would intercept him. He didn't know a single eunuch now. Even if he saw Gao Zhong, he didn't know him, so he should give it to him for a try. Try to see if you can communicate with the gods.

One thousand taels is not much for Wei Guangde.

Although Chen Ju is honest, a common problem among eunuchs is that they cannot get money.

Five taels was nothing to a high-ranking eunuch, but to a young eunuch like him, it was a lot.

Very pleasantly surprised, he took the silver ingot and the meeting ticket handed over by Wei Guangde and put them into his arms, "Please rest assured, Mr. Wei, I will definitely pass them on to my godfather."

In fact, does it matter who handed over his memorial?

It all depends on the emperor's attitude.

Wei Guangde already knew the night before that Liu Dazhang's dismissal was a foregone conclusion, and his position as the chief military officer of the Xuanfu was lost, but he was not convicted for it.

Thinking about it, Liu Dazhang had committed a crime in Liaodong back then, involving smuggling. It was because Anda Khan made too much noise, and the court couldn't find the manpower for a while, so it sent him to Xuanfu as a convicted person.

Now that you find it unbearable, it’s normal to give up.

As for how much money Liu Dazhang spent on the general's errands and how much money he spent on settling Wei Guangde's complaint, this is not something Wei Guangde should consider.

But this man is quite powerful, and he was able to get away with a strike.

Not long after, the carriage stopped outside the gate of Xiyuan. Wei Guangde got out of the car with Chen Ju and showed the palace card according to the procedure before entering Xiyuan.

Not far from the Xiyuan Gate is the Xihua Gate of the Imperial City. In the past, Emperor Jiajing used to go directly through the Xihua Gate when entering and exiting the palace.

Wei Guangde and the others had no choice but to go around Chang'an Street.

When Wei Guangde entered Xiyuan, he was instantly fascinated by the beautiful scenery here.

When he arrived in the capital, Wei Guangde had long heard that the construction of Xiyuan had cost Emperor Jiajing a lot of money, and the inside was also beautifully built with money.

When I walked into Xiyuan today, I finally knew how the money was spent.

The buildings in Xiyuan are carefully designed and constructed with great care. Even the exotic flowers and plants planted on both sides of the palace road cost a lot of money.

Here, Wei Guangde actually saw a few white cranes playing in the garden. He continued to move forward and soon reached the Taiye Pond, bypassing the Long Live Mountain and continuing on.

Contrary to what Wei Guangde thought, Emperor Jiajing did not summon him at the Yongshou Palace where he lived this time, but at the Ziguang Pavilion beside the Taiye Pool.

"The humble minister Wei Guangde has met your Majesty, long live my emperor."

After entering the main hall, Wei Guangde looked at his nose, nose and heart, and without any distractions, he saluted Emperor Jiajing on the throne. As for whether he would kneel in the wrong direction or whether there was no one on the throne, that was a funny scene.

Wei Guangde took a peek before entering the door and saw a Taoist priest sitting on the throne.

Yes, he is a Taoist priest.

Different from what Wei Guangde had seen before at ceremonies such as the Chuanlu Ceremony, Emperor Jiajing at this time was not wearing a dragon robe, but was dressed as a Taoist priest.

What does a Taoist priest look like?

You can refer to the stills of the Hong Kong movie Uncle Nine as a Ghost.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing was wearing an apricot yellow Taoist robe. Wei Guangde was able to identify that it was a Taoist robe and not a dragon robe because it was embroidered with Bagua patterns.

A somewhat rare look.

Wei Guangde thought in his mind that the only difference between his appearance and Uncle Jiu's was that Emperor Jiajing was not wearing a black Tai Chi Pure Yang scarf, but a hat over one foot tall made of green gauze with embroidered Tai Chi pattern.

Wei Guangde unconsciously recalled the scene in the TV series "The Ming Dynasty" that he had watched that year. It seemed that several people had garlands on their heads. He didn't know if it represented this thing.

The hat on Jiajing's head, Wei Guangde actually heard someone say, this thing should be a fragrant leaf crown.

Don't underestimate this fragrant leaf crown, most people can't get it.

As far as Wei Guangde knows, only two people have obtained the fragrant leaf crown. One is the former chief assistant Xia Yan, but he did not cherish it and did not know where it was thrown. Then he was chopped off.

Another person who received the fragrant leaf crown was Yan Song, the current chief minister. According to what Wei Guangde heard from his colleagues, the fragrant leaf crown was not made by others, but by the emperor himself.

From design to manufacturing, they were all made by Emperor Jiajing, which shows the value of this cuckold.

However, what happened next was beyond Wei Guangde's imagination.

After he knelt down and bowed, he knelt down on the ground, raised his ears, and waited for the words "Love you to be level" to be heard from above, and then he could stand up naturally.

However, my ears were perked up, but no human voice was heard.

At this time, Wei Guangde was highly focused. Although he was not a martial arts master who could see all directions and hear all directions, at this moment, even if a pin dropped in the palace, he might be able to hear the noise.

It was eerily quiet in Ziguang Pavilion, with not a single sound coming out.

Wei Guangde didn't dare to get up, he was in front of you now.

As the saying goes, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying the tiger. Staying with the emperor for a long time will definitely have benefits, but the risks are also high. If you are not careful, you will offend Long Yan, and you will be left with nothing to eat.

He didn't know how long he had been kneeling. Wei Guangde felt that his feet were a little numb, but the pain in his feet was still a minor thing. Now he was feeling very uneasy.

Wei Guangde couldn't figure out what Emperor Jiajing was trying to do. Didn't he offend him?

Everyone else has left, right?

Do you want to punish yourself by hanging here alone?

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde became even more panicked, and unconsciously started to raise his head slightly. He did not dare to look around, but just slightly, little by little, raised his head and rolled his eyes as high as possible.

I saw that Emperor Jiajing was still sitting there.

Different from before entering the door, Emperor Jiajing was leaning on the throne at this time, staring at him with a playful expression.