The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In the next two days, Wei Guangde finally stopped and stayed in the Jiujiang Guild Hall without leaving home.

However, the information he asked Zhang Ke to find out was finally there.

When the Ministry of War planned the rewards, Wei Guangde only paid attention to two people, one was Ma Fang and the other was Dong Yiyuan.

These two people can be regarded as chess pieces pre-arranged by Wei Guangde in Xuanfu and Jizhen.

Ma Fang was directly promoted to General this time and may make another move at the end of the year. Dong Yiyuan was also promoted from 100 households to 1000 households and became a guerrilla general. However, there will be no major adjustments to the soldiers and horses in Ji Town, so he still has only That cavalry unit of more than 400 people.

Once the title is up, you can take your time with the rest, but Wei Guangde is not in a hurry.

With the exact information in hand, Wei Guangde wrote a letter, and then took the time to leave Anding Gate in the north and go to the Jingying Station to find Dong Yiyuan.

After Wei Guangde asked Dong Yiyuan to station in the Beijing camp before, he reported to the camp officer that he needed to wait for Lord Weng Puweng's order before he could know whether to return to Jizhen or go to Xuanfu to continue accompanying him for protection, so he has been stationed in the Beijing camp these days. .

After meeting Dong Yiyuan in the Beijing camp, Wei Guangde withdrew and told Dong Yiyuan the news he had learned from the Ministry of War, including his promoted position and the fact that he would still be with the old army and that there would be no additional troops.

At this stage, Wei Guangde only knows a lot of information in advance, and he must be speechless at the decision-making level.

Among his contemporaries, except for the first three people and himself who were awarded officials, they were all still studying as Jinshi.

However, like Dong Yiyuan, he is still young, that is, Ma Fang is forty years old, so he may be a little impatient to wait.

This is also the reason why Wei Guangde still wants to win over Dong Yiyuan. He, Wei Guangde, doesn't know anyone who is young and looks capable.

Dong Yiyuan seems to be at least okay, so he can maintain the relationship first and see how it goes.

For Dong Yiyuan, it is quite satisfying to be promoted and get a raise in salary after just one escort mission. Although he took a little risk, it seems to be worth it now.

He knew that he was able to take credit for his promotion because Wei Guangde added his name to the merit book, and his position was relatively high. Otherwise, the gentlemen in the Ministry of War in the capital would not know that there was a general named Dong Yiyuan in the Xuan Mansion.

After finishing talking about the business, Dong Yiyuan asked Wei Guangde about his future whereabouts.

For him, it is now difficult to rely on a Beijing official. He naturally hopes that Wei Guangde's official career will be prosperous, which will help him even more.

"As for me, I should still stay in the Hanlin Academy and continue my studies."

Wei Guangde was a little amused that Dong Yiyuan asked such a question, "The grade may be adjusted. Wait a few years to see if I can transfer to Taichang Temple or the Ministry of Rites. I don't know.

I went to Xiyuan to meet His Majesty the day before yesterday, and he only asked about some things about Baoan Prefecture, but didn't mention much.

By the way, I still have a letter here. You arrange for your soldiers to go to Xuan Mansion and deliver it to Ma Fang. "

Hearing that Wei Guangde asked him to send someone to deliver the message, Dong Yiyuan nodded quickly, but was interrupted by Wei Guangde waving his hand when he wanted to speak.

"The person you arrange to deliver the letter this time must be cautious and reliable. It is best to know the details."

At this point, Wei Guangde frowned slightly before continuing: "The letter must be handed over to Ma Fang in person, and I must also tell him that the last few sentences in the letter were told by His Majesty when I was in Xiyuan."

Dong Yiyuan had a natural expression on his face when he listened to Wei Guangde's words before. He didn't pay attention even when Wei Guangde emphatically ordered him to select a reliable person to deliver the letter.

It was only when Wei Guangde finally said that there was an explanation from the emperor in the letter that he was horrified. Thinking about Wei Guangde's expression when he asked him to pay attention to selecting people, Dong Yiyuan somewhat understood the meaning of his words.

Wei Guangde almost pointed out that there was someone from Jinyiwei around him or Ma Fang.

Wei Guangde was accompanied by two people, one was Zhang Ji and the other was Li San.

The two of them were from Jiujiang Guards. It could be said that they knew everything about them. They both came from Bengshan Castle and could be trusted.

Wei Guangde didn't believe that under his nose, these two people could be instigated by Jin Yiwei to help them monitor him.

Jinyiwei's eyes were all over the Ming Dynasty, and they were hereditary, so there were naturally many people in the army.

However, Wei Guangde thought about it and found that Zhang Ji and Li San's family backgrounds were unlikely to be Jinyiwei spies. So if Emperor Jiajing knew what he and Ma Fang said, it was probably someone close to Ma Fang who leaked it. .

The purpose of telling Dong Yiyuan this was for two reasons. One was to let Dong Yiyuan pay attention to his own soldiers and not create a few more Jinyiwei spies. The other was to tell Dong Yiyuan that I had a holy family and Emperor Jiajing knew about him. He had contact with Ma Fang, but he didn't do anything to him, and even asked him to send messages to others privately.

Well, this is actually a warning.

After finishing speaking, Wei Guangde took out a letter written to Ma Fang from his arms and handed it to Dong Yiyuan, "You can rest for a few more days and then you can go back to Jizhen to deliver the work. Go back and wait for the news of the reward. It is estimated that it will not be sent out in the short term. "

"Why? Isn't it settled?"

Dong Yiyuan asked in confusion, the reward must be in hand to be sure, who knows if there will be changes in the process.

"Master Weng hasn't come back yet, and the competition for the position of Chief Military Officer of the Xuan Mansion is fierce, so I'm afraid the reward won't be announced in the short term."

Wei Guangde smiled and explained, "If I hadn't met with His Majesty the day before yesterday, maybe the Ministry of War would have quarreled in the cabinet over my matter."

Seeing Dong Yiyuan's puzzled look, Wei Guangde smiled and explained: "The Ministry of War wants to transfer me to their place, and I will be assigned to lead troops in the future."

At this point, the smile on Wei Guangde's face turned cold and he continued: "I'm a dignified scholar, so why should I serve in the Ministry of War? Do I still have a future?"

Fortunately, His Majesty was considerate. The news I received was that I would continue to study in the Hanlin Academy and wait until I am older in a few years before arranging errands. ’

"Yes, it's good to study in the Hanlin Academy. In the future, it will be logical to join the Ministry of Rites and the cabinet to pay homage to the Prime Minister."

Dong Yiyuan has now recovered from his surprise. Are the overt and covert fights in the court so fierce?

Seeing that Wei Guangde was valued by the emperor, those who had ideas about the cabinet began to suppress him. Asking Wei Guangde to go to the Ministry of War was tantamount to ending his hope of joining the cabinet.

Although there is still a chance, it is already slim.

Wei Guangde left after explaining the matter clearly to Dong Yiyuan's army. The rewards in the army could not be received in the short term, but his rewards should be given, perhaps earlier than those in the army.

Although Wei Guangde had just been promoted to the Hanlin Academy for review, Wei Guangde always felt that for his meritorious service this time, he had to be done by an editor. From the seventh grade to the seventh grade, it was considered an upgrade.

The earlier thought of seizing Chen Jin's opportunity was just a thought.

Chen Jin lost his chance. In the same year as him, there were Cao Dazhang and Wen Yinglu. Maybe the court would leave their positions to them.

While Wei Guangde was walking back to the city, the documents regarding Wei Guangde's appointment were finally finalized in the Ming Dynasty cabinet.

"Wu Shangshu, the palace has approved it. Just take it back and do it."

Yan Song glanced at the memorial in his hand. This was the memorial about Wei Guangde's reward that was sent to Xiyuan yesterday. It was sent back today. He shook his head slightly and handed the thing in his hand to Wu Peng, who was next.

Xu Jie sat aside and didn't say anything. He couldn't get involved in Wei Guangde's affairs, and it was inconvenient for him to get involved. Everything was the intention of Xiyuan.

To be honest, he doesn't agree with Wei Guangde being promoted now. After all, he is too young and should hone himself in the Hanlin Academy for a few more years.

But he couldn't come out to stop it and violate the holy will.

Wu Peng had already taken the memorial handed over by Yan Song with both hands and nodded, "What the Chief Assistant said is that I will make arrangements when I get back."

At this time, in addition to the cabinet ministers, there were six ministers in the cabinet, which were equivalent to the internal working meetings of the highest power departments of the Ming Dynasty.

When other ministers looked at Wu Peng's actions, some disapproved, others looked down upon and laughed.

As for Wu Peng, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, he could say whatever was said in the Ming Dynasty. Probably because after he succeeded Li Mo, he followed the orders of the Yan family and his son, and did not have the dignity that an official of the Ministry of Personnel should have.

Even in the official department, there are many people who are not ashamed to be officials, and they all feel that they have lost the official position.

What kind of department is the Ministry of Personnel? It is the powerful department in charge of the positions of officials in the world. Even if the Yan family is powerful, they cannot completely obey their orders. This will make them, the people of the Ministry of Personnel, behave when they are appointed in the future.

All the money sent to Beijing to run for office went into Yan Shifan's pocket and had nothing to do with them.

If the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is strong enough and does not look down upon the Yan family, they will naturally come to the Ministry of Personnel to be accommodating.

Now it's better, the civil service department is all managed by the Yan family.

Most of the other ministers also looked down on Wu Peng. Fortunately, their family was related by marriage to the Jinyiwei Lu Bing family, which was really embarrassing.

However, Wu Peng didn't seem to notice these glances. He carefully put away the documents and just sat back in his seat.

"Is there anything else?"

The work at hand was assigned, and Yan Song looked around the room with his cloudy eyes. Now he wanted to discuss other troubles encountered by the six departments.

"The palace has asked for one hundred thousand taels of silver. Mr. Ge, our household department is unable to pay for this money."

As soon as the words fell, Fang Pu, the Minister of Household Affairs, spoke.

During this period, it is said that because of Xuanfu's victory in the First World War, Emperor Jiajing held two more fasting ceremonies in Xiyuan, and then sent a bill to the Ministry of Revenue, asking the Ministry of Revenue to give one hundred thousand taels of silver to the inner court. .

No one knows what the current Ming Dynasty's finances are like better than him. If he doesn't take this opportunity to speak out, he won't be able to handle it.

Everyone else had already heard about the fact that the inner court was asking for money from the Ministry of Finance, but at this time they were all busy waiting to see how the plot would develop and what method Mr. Yan Ge would use to solve the money problem.

Yan Song did not answer directly, but looked at Xu Jie, the second assistant next to him.

They are all old foxes, and his methods of repairing holes are not the same, but now he wants to see if Xu Jie has any other methods available, or if he can still blame the problem on himself as before.

"Haha, everyone now knows the Hubu stall very well. The reason why Yin Chi Mao Liang can still be maintained until now is all because of the management of Yan Ge.

One hundred thousand taels of silver is not a small number. It's easy to say ten thousand or twenty thousand. You can get it by just squeezing it out in various yamen in Beijing. One hundred thousand taels is enough.

Mr. Ge, I apologize for my incompetence, but I really can’t think of a solution. "

Xu Jie, as always, left the matter to Yan Song to decide. In fact, he was already familiar with Yan Song and Xi Ni's method, which was to intercept the money that had been allocated for other purposes and give priority to the expenses of the inner court.

As for those places that need money, they will wait for the next batch of silver to be delivered to Beijing and then distribute it in order. To put it bluntly, it is delaying time and delaying payment.

The account is still there, and it won’t be reduced by a single cent. It’s just hard to say how long it will take to get it.

Of course, if you find the right person, you can get money and jump in line.

However, everything must be done in the palace, which is why Yan Song can sit firmly on the throne of chief minister.

Except for him, no chief minister in the Ming Dynasty would choose to join the emperor blindly, completely ignoring the objections of all the officials in the court, not to mention that the money was still used for fasting and building temples and temples.

Xu Jie also wanted to sit in Yan Song's seat, but he knew that in the years when Emperor Jiajing was still energetic and capable of tossing, even if he could squeeze Yan Song away, he would not be able to sit firmly in that seat.

Because, he still let go of his old face.

On the morning of the sixth day after Wei Guangde returned to Beijing, an official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs came to the door of the Jiujiang Guild Hall under the escort of his bodyguard, and Wei Guangde was already waiting here dressed neatly.

At this time, the inside and outside of the Jiujiang Guild Hall have been cleaned, and the garbage and feces that used to appear near the gate of the Guild Hall are no longer visible.

Although this place is the capital, the sanitary environment of the city is not as clean as that of small counties in later generations. This is something Wei Guangde is not used to.

There is no other way, just do as the Romans do. It seems to be like this all over the world now, so what else can you do?

Welcoming the edict-carrying officials into the Jiujiang Guild Hall, an incense table has been set up in the lobby of the Guild Hall.

The incense table was a very important sacrificial instrument in ancient society, and was generally used to place incense, candles and fruits for sacrificial purposes.

The reason why the incense table is placed to welcome the imperial edict is, on the one hand, because the emperor is known as the Son of Heaven and has divine power granted by heaven, and the orders issued are therefore considered to be orders from heaven.

The ancients were in awe of heaven, so the son of heaven needed to use the incense case when issuing orders, and the eunuchs or ministers who came to read out the imperial edict were called "angels", implying that they were messengers sent by the Tian family, not Western culture. The "angel" described.

At this time, Wei Guangde followed diligently behind the "angel" and waited to receive the order. The fragrance on the incense table had been lit, the light smoke was rising, and the fragrance filled the entire lobby.

Behind the incense burner, a wooden frame has been placed, which will be used to enshrine the imperial edict after the edict is delivered.

As for why Wei Guangde was so well-prepared, it was not because someone sent the news yesterday and there was a decree coming today.

Imperial decrees are not issued directly without warning. The recipients of the decree are usually notified in advance.

"Follow heaven to carry the emperor, and make the emperor"

As the male angel began to read out the holy decree, everyone in the Jiujiang Guild Hall knelt down to listen to the holy decree.

It did not surprise Wei Guangde that the post of reviewer of the Hanlin Academy that he had just been awarded two months ago was turned into a seventh-level editor of the Hanlin Academy. However, what was a little surprising was that he also had a lack of Taichang Temple, Taichang. The temple code is thin.

○Ding Chou in July of the 35th year of Jiajing (July 21, 1556 AD 1556-08-25)

○The Ministry of Accounts was ordered to issue one hundred thousand taels of silver from the central treasury. If it is used internally, it is still urgent to make up for it.