The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The reason why everyone treats Zhang Juzheng this way is actually because the entrance examination method he is promoting is really unfriendly to officials.

Those who procrastinate in handling government affairs will be punished, which is unacceptable to these officials who have passed the Jinshi examination.

After finally becoming an official, why should I be restricted by all the rules and regulations? Then what’s the point of being an official?

It can be said that a large part of what happened to Zhang Juzheng after his death was caused by the exam.

Liu Tai was released from prison and left the capital in despair.

"Sir, when Liu Tai left, no official went to see him off."

In the study room of the Wei Mansion, Zhang Ji quietly reported to Wei Guangde what he saw this morning.

"Well, it would be good if you can leave alive. Otherwise, you will be guilty and sent to guard the border. That would be a life worse than death."

Wei Guangde didn't have any emotions about Liu Tai's punishment. It didn't mean that Liu Tai did the right thing, so he should come forward to help and protect him.

In fact, Liu Tai had his own considerations in doing this. It can only be said that he made a wrong bet.

Officialdom is actually gray, there is nothing black and white.

Wei Guangde also saw that when most people deal with things, they mostly consider their own interests and choose their own position.

Even Hai Rui, known as "Blue Sky", could not escape the rules and restrictions of Ming Dynasty officialdom.

However, he will try his best to win some benefits for the people.

It is precisely because of his approach that he has huge reputation and influence among the people.

In fact, this had already been revealed when Hai Rui handled Xu Jie's case. He tried his best to talk to Xu Jie, hoping that the Xu family could spit out some of the people's land they had invaded and keep less of it.

In the end, he was moved away by Gao Gong because Gao Gong thought this method was too gentle. He should have expected Hai Rui to live up to his reputation and cut Xu Jie directly.

However, Wei Guangde thought that Liu Tai had left, and the matter was completely settled. But how did he know that when he saw the memorial again a few years later, he realized that Liu Tai was doomed after all.

As for the rumors in later generations that Liu Tai died at the hands of Zhang Juzheng, it is hard to say. After all, Liu Tai's impeachment memorial offended more than one Zhang Juzheng, as well as Zhang Siwei, Zhang Han and others who were named in the memorial.

Zhang Siwei was not an ordinary person at that time, and he might have used Zhang Juzheng's name to get someone killed.

In fact, according to history, after Gao Gong was expelled, Zhang Siwei joined the cabinet and became a cabinet minister, and together with Zhang Juzheng and Lu Tiaoyang formed the cabinet troika in the early Wanli period.

However, due to Wei Guangde's intrusion, Zhang Siwei's path to the cabinet has been delayed until now.

"Ahem."

At this moment, a servant coughed slightly outside the door.

After Wei Guangde heard about it, he said to Zhang Ji: "Go and see what's going on."

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Ji agreed and walked out quickly, but soon came back with a list in his hand.

"Sir, Mr. Zhang's gifts have been counted and stored in the warehouse. Please take a look."

Zhang Ji handed the gift list he just received to Wei Guangde with both hands and asked him to take a look.

Wei Guangde stretched out his hand to take it, glanced at it, and couldn't help but smacked his lips and said, "This is such a big handiwork by Ziwei."

There are many things recorded on the gift list in my hand, many of which are rare treasures such as jade, jade, and coral. There are also many pieces of fine Su embroidery and Shu embroidery, but there are no tacky things like gold, silver, and treasures.

"Then what the master means is, do you want it?"

When Zhang Ji heard what Wei Guangde said, he understood the wrong meaning and said hesitantly.

‘Whatever you want, haha, if he dares to give it to me, he dares to accept it. What’s the point? I just need to pay back the gift a little more in terms of my moral integrity.

Remember this, and tell me when you prepare the gift list. ’

Wei Guangde is not some stupid young man. He was like this when Zhang Siwei was in the Hanlin Academy. When something happened in the academy, he would come to his door and give him ten taels or twenty taels of silver. He said that money can help with many things and is much better than gifts. If you don't need it, you don't need to exchange it for silver.

Then, he was accused of bribing his colleagues.

Fortunately, the money given out at that time was all verifiable, and it was given in front of everyone, and at that time he gave it to everyone in trouble, so he only received a few words of reprimand and was not expelled from the Hanlin Academy. .

"Zhang Siwei"

Wei Guangde couldn't help but murmured something, thinking about the situation when he worked together in the Hanlin Academy.

It can only be that Wei Guangde doesn't think Zhang Siwei has much talent, but there are many people willing to help him.

The reason has been mentioned before.

Zhang Siwei is good at communication, perhaps because of his family inheritance. After all, he comes from a businessman's family.

He himself has a high level of literary accomplishment and has written many books. It is worth mentioning that he was selected as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy because of his calligraphy.

As for Zhang Siwei's unique insights into border affairs, Wei Guangde had some conversations with him, but it was probably what Zhang Juzheng said to him today. As long as the Mongols' needs for Ming supplies were met commercially, they would not go south to herd horses. , the border will be peaceful.

The Ming Dynasty will also benefit a lot from carrying out trade with the Mongols. After all, it is a trade, and it will not suffer any loss if both parties trade. It is much better than the suffering of the people in the devastation of war.

At that time, Zhang Siwei was still Wei Guangde's senior. He was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Jiajing reign. Not long after Wei Guangde entered the Hanlin Academy, he became an editor like him, and was promoted even before he had been a Shujishi for a full time.

However, Zhang Siwei served as a Shujishi for more than two years before he was awarded the official position of editor in the Hanlin Academy. Since then, Zhang Siwei has been a little transparent in the Hanlin Academy. His real promotion only started after Gao Gong returned from the Longqing Dynasty.

Perhaps at that time, Gao Gong urgently needed help from people like Zhang Siwei who had been sitting on the sidelines in the court for a long time. Supporting these people was much better than taking over others.

As the saying goes, it is easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide help when the time is right.

What's more, this fourth-dimensional person has a strong background. As long as he is kind to him, he can get the favor from Yang Bo and Wang Chonggu at the same time.

Zhang Juzheng also favored him after Gao Gong, and he probably had the same consideration.

However, Wei Guangde still shook his head. Whether Zhang Siwei was in the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel, he was actually doing well, but Wei Guangde still felt that it was inappropriate to let him join the cabinet.

The reason why Zhang Siwei wasted those years in the Hanlin Academy was not because his relationship was not strong enough. You must know that Yang Bo had already transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and became a heavenly official at that time, and it was easy to promote him to become an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

Even the aristocratic Hanlin Master would never offend Mr. Yang over such a trivial matter, and would definitely support it.

However, during that period of time, Zhang Siwei was as if the mud could not hold up the wall, and he looked like an idle person in the Hanlin Academy all day long.

Yes, the original impeachment may have had a great impact on him, but in the final analysis it is still a matter of his character.

Children from rich families always lack a bit of perseverance and perseverance to be enterprising and hard-working.

For Zhang Siwei, money should be just a concept of numbers.

Zhang Siwei has long been accustomed to the things that many children from poor families dream of.

Others study hard in the hope that one day they will leap over the dragon's door and enter an official career, which will bring glory to their family and at the same time change the situation of their family.

As for Zhang Siwei, studying, taking the imperial examination, and becoming an official were just a life choice. He might have the air of a scholar to express his ambitions, but he definitely had no expectation of changing his family's situation.

In fact, the pitifully meager salary of officials in the Ming Dynasty may not be enough for Zhang Siwei to buy a good book.

Zhang Siwei was said to be very smart and precocious when he was a child. When he was seven years old, his speech and behavior were no different from those of an adult.

My father is doing business abroad all year round, but he likes to send things to Zhang Siwei.

My father’s gifts were not toys or specialties from other places, but carts of books.

Yes, books, books brought back by car.

In ancient times, a good book was expensive, but Zhang Siwei's father collected a large number of rare books from everywhere and transported them back by car for Zhang Siwei to study. This shows that his family's wealth is excellent.

In the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty, Puzhou's results were not ideal.

But Zhang Siwei is an outlier who jumped out of this place. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 24, passed the imperial examination at the age of 28, was awarded the title of editor of the Hanlin Academy at the age of 30, and only became the fifth-grade Youzhong Yun at the age of 42. In the fourth year of Longqing, that is At the age of 45, he was promoted to a bachelor's degree in the Imperial Academy and a minister in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and he really began to make a name for himself in the Ming Dynasty.

There is a comment about Zhang Siwei in "History of the Ming Dynasty" that "Siwei is suave, intelligent, and knowledgeable about current affairs." A suave person can read Zhang Siwei's free and easy character.

Perhaps, he never thought about joining the cabinet and dominating the affairs of the world from the beginning, but was pushed to the front desk by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

Because they want to take advantage of his power, or the network behind him.

However, after Gao Gong paved the golden road for him to join the cabinet, he and the family behind him had no choice.

"It's really a headache."

Wei Guangde murmured that he could not refuse Zhang Siwei to join the cabinet. He had all the conditions, and he had taken care of all officials of the fourth rank and above in the court.

Up to now, even though they knew that Zhang Siwei gave heavier gifts than others, the Metropolitan Procuratorate was too lazy to pay attention to him.

Because if a person's family is rich, they are arrogant.

He does not only give heavy gifts to a few people who are useful to him, but gives them to everyone, treating everyone equally.

What reason does the Metropolitan Procuratorate have to suspect someone else's motives for giving gifts?

"The left minister has been promoted, and the right minister has taken his place. Lu Tiaoyang, you have given me a big trouble."

Wei Guangde was still muttering silently, there was no one in his pocket.

The candidates in Jiangxi Province have not performed well in recent years. In my class of the same year, Shujishi was not selected at all, so it was difficult to find helpers.

I went through the Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing, but couldn't find the right person. I also thought about the Jinshi in the 41st year, and Duan Mengxian came to mind first.

It's a pity that this old man's results in the palace examination were pretty good, with more than 80 second-class results, but in the end no one was selected as a concubine, and he was not qualified to join the Ministry of Etiquette as a minister.

"Shen Shixing?"

Suddenly, the name of Xu Shixing, the number one scholar in the 41st year of Jiajing reign, appeared in Wei Guangde's mind.

Although Shen Shixing was unable to enter the cabinet, Shen Shixing was now the Zhan Shifu and a bachelor's degree student in Zhan Shifu, and he was just one step away from entering the court.

How about I give him a kick and send him to the Ministry of Etiquette?

Wei Guangde's heart moved slightly and he had an idea.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng spent several years preparing to bring Zhang Siwei into the cabinet.

There is no one in my hands, but I might as well reach out and recruit people from outside to come to my side.

Shen Shixing is the number one scholar, so he has inherent advantages in joining the cabinet.

In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, the first three people in each subject were directly recommended to the Hanlin Academy as officials, which was to select them for future cabinet appointments.

Some people will lose their qualifications for various reasons, while some people will stay and become the lucky ones.

Yes, getting into the cabinet actually involves some luck.

Just like Chen Jin, the top scholar in the imperial examination, who was about to be promoted, but unfortunately he made a mistake in delivering his merits and fell ill on the way. He lost his merits and was directly eliminated from the competition.

Shen Shixing was just missing the last step, which was to transfer from the Zhanshi Mansion to the Ministry of Rites or the Ministry of Personnel.

Those with connections, such as Zhang Siwei, would have someone to arrange for them.

Shen Shixing was unlucky and could only wait for his chance.

This time, Wei Guangde planned to help Shen Shixing in a timely manner. If he knew what was good for him, he would naturally come to his mansion to visit and thank him, and the relationship would be established.

Wait and see his ability to handle official business in the Ministry of Rites, and then decide whether to help him and send him to the cabinet to be his right-hand man.

In the past, Wei Guangde's eyes had always been on the provincial governors and prefects, as well as several major government offices in the court, and he really didn't consider the cabinet helpers.

It was a move that was a step behind Zhang Juzheng, and he was many years late.

Obviously, Zhang Juzheng actually made this mistake, so he chose Zhang Siwei and appointed someone supported by Gao Gong.

"Fortunately, it's not too late to find out now."

Wei Guangde made up his mind that when Zhang Juzheng proposed to recommend Zhang Siwei to join the cabinet, he would take the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites to Shen Shixing.

Wei Guangde could foresee that Zhang Siwei was not afraid of suspicion and visited his house, so Zhang Juzheng would definitely take action soon.

Sure enough, within two days, before the end of the court, Lu Diaoyang met in the prime minister's duty room to discuss political affairs, and he said to Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde: 'My old illness has come back these days. I plan to take a few days off to rest. If it doesn't work, I will report to the emperor and request to retire and return to my hometown to retire. The two cabinet elders should make plans for the cabinet's work early. '

"I think Brother Heqing looks good, don't worry, if you are ill, just rest for a few days."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"It's an old problem. I haven't recovered after several treatments. I'd better give up my position. There are many outstanding talents in the court. It's time for them to share the worries of the cabinet."

Lü Diaoyang just smiled. There are only three people in the cabinet. If one person is missing, there will be a lot more government affairs to deal with. It's okay to continue to occupy the position for a short time. If it lasts for a long time, both Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde will be dissatisfied.

"Yes, Shandai is right. Heqing will take a rest for two days first, and don't mention retirement."

Zhang Juzheng also spoke.

"I understand what you two mean, but my body is really a little bit unbearable."

Lü Diaoyang smiled bitterly, "Let's see who is suitable in the court. When the time comes, Heqing can recommend someone in the memorial."

Lü Diaoyang is a good man. He saw it early that Wei Guangde had not prepared anyone to join the cabinet, and it was Zhang Juzheng who had plans.

To put it bluntly, once the first and second assistants have agreed on the candidates, the matter is basically settled.

He took this opportunity to sell good things and get some of his people a better position.

Upon hearing this, Wei Guangde said nothing more and just looked at Zhang Juzheng.