The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde more or less neglected the impact of the Liu Tai case on Zhang Juzheng, and also underestimated the impact of this incident on the court.

In fact, because Wei Guangde and Feng Bao gradually became estranged, many news in the palace were somewhat lacking, and many things in the palace were deliberately kept out of the public by Feng Bao.

In fact, Liu Tai's impeachment of Zhang Juzheng for six crimes damaged Zhang Juzheng's personal reputation and image.

In his memorial, Liu Tai accused Zhang Juzheng of monopolizing power and appointing people based on personal connections. Although these accusations were eventually proven to be false, they had a negative impact on Zhang Juzheng's image and reputation.

Zhang Juzheng had to take severe measures to deal with Liu Tai, which also caused a certain impact on his image and reputation among the court officials.

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What Wei Guangde didn't know was that after the Liu Tai case, Zhang Juzheng went to the inner court alone. He had to kneel down to the empress dowager and the young emperor to confess his mistakes and request to resign.

Although the emperor finally retained him, this incident undoubtedly deepened the contradiction between Zhang Juzheng and the empress dowager and the emperor, and increased his political risks.

In fact, after the Liu Tai case, the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and the emperor and the empress dowager began to become tense.

Liu Tai accused Zhang Juzheng of monopolizing power and appointing people based on personal connections, which was exactly what the inner court least wanted to see.

In the past two days, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde held a cabinet briefing. Zhang Juzheng also seemed absent-minded. He seemed to have something to say, but he didn't say it after all.

Wei Guangde certainly knew the rumors in the officialdom of the capital.

Things that were gradually forgotten were turned up again. It would be strange if the prime minister could look good.

It must be said that this time Zhang Xueyan's fight with Liu Tai did not seem to be instigated by Zhang Juzheng.

But Wei Guangde was not sure, after all, at this position, the performance skills seemed to be quite good.

Zhang Juzheng must have a deep hatred for Liu Tai, so he would take revenge sooner or later.

It might be better to take revenge earlier than to delay it for several years.

After all, at this juncture, except for the introduction of the performance evaluation system, Zhang Juzheng was still planning other policies and the troops had not been deployed.

If it was delayed until later and he began to make drastic reforms to the government, then it would not be a good time to move Liu Tai.

"There is an imperial decree."

Wei Guangde was sitting in the duty room handling official business when suddenly a shrill voice came from outside the door.

Needless to say, Wei Guangde knew it was the eunuch in the inner court who was delivering the imperial decree.

Although it is said that if there is something, the palace will pass the note out, and if it is government affairs, it will be sent to the cabinet after approval, but if there is an emergency, the eunuch will also be sent to deliver the imperial decree.

Wei Guangde immediately put down the memorial in his hand, stood up and went out to greet him.

After passing the duty room, a eunuch was standing in the yard, and a young eunuch stood beside him.

And around, the clerks and secretaries of the cabinet stood respectfully.

This courtyard was opposite Wei Guangde's duty room, and it was obvious that the order was given to Wei Guangde.

After going out, Wei Guangde lifted up his clothes and fell to the ground, shouting "I receive the order."

"The Empress Dowager, the emperor's oral order, the cabinet minister Wei Guangde drafted the order, recruiting Zhang Siwei to be promoted to the Minister of Rites and the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, and to enter the cabinet to do business."

After the eunuch delivered the order, Wei Guangde kowtowed to receive the order.

"Eunuch Zhang, I just came from Ciqing Palace, come in and rest for a while."

Wei Guangde greeted the eunuch who delivered the order, and wanted to invite him to sit in and ask about the situation in Ciqing Palace.

"Thank you for your concern, Lord Wei. After I pass on the news, I have to report back to the palace.

Please also ask Lord Wei to draft a memorial as soon as possible. The queen and His Majesty are thinking about it.

Today, the queen said that Lord Lu is now recuperating at home, and the state affairs are all entrusted to the Prime Minister and Lord Wei. Didn't the cabinet suggest adding cabinet ministers before? The queen thought that adding one person would not be so hard for the two gentlemen."

Eunuch Zhang is someone close to Empress Dowager Chen. Although Empress Dowager Chen doesn't manage things much, this time she actually sent someone from his side. Wei Guangde didn't know what was going on.

After sending Eunuch Zhang away, he planned to contact Chen Ju at night to ask what was going on in the palace, which alarmed Empress Dowager Chen who didn't care about the secular world.

Back to the duty room, Wei Guangde immediately drafted the edict.

The edicts of the Ming Dynasty were generally issued to the outside world, and they needed to be made in a riot of flowers and good words, but the edicts for the promotion of Beijing officials were actually very simple, and the writing was directly to the point.

Just appoint someone to take up what position and take care of what things.

After finishing, Wei Guangde immediately called Lu Bu and asked him to arrange for someone to send it to the Silijian for seal.

As for the six departments, he didn't need to ask at all.

Now the supervision responsibility of the six departments has been transferred from the emperor in the past to the cabinet. Although they still have great power, they still have to act according to the cabinet's mood most of the time.

This is the difference between the current management. In the past, the cabinet could not manage the six departments, so they naturally had the capital to be arrogant and could also compete in front of the emperor.

But now the emperor is young, and the power of the outer court has been transferred to the cabinet, so naturally they can only bow their heads.

Wei Guangde knew that the news of Zhang Siwei's entry into the cabinet would spread soon, so he didn't plan to inform Zhang Juzheng. Anyway, this is what he has been eager to achieve.

In the past, when Lu Diaoyang was in the cabinet, it could be said that the cabinet was an iron triangle and could remain relatively stable.

With Lu Diaoyang recuperating and Zhang Siwei entering the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng's voice among the cabinet ministers will undoubtedly increase greatly, and so will his influence in the court.

With Zhang's help, Zhang Juzheng's speech in the cabinet was much tougher than Wei Guangde's.

“Lending well, lending well.”

After leaving the office in the afternoon, Wei Guangde came out of the imperial city and was about to get into the sedan when he heard someone calling him.

He stood still and looked over. It was Tan Lun. He took the first step and came here to wait for him.

Wei Guangde came over to greet him, but was pulled aside by Tan Lun and asked in a low voice: "Today Zhang Siwei entered the cabinet, did the chief minister say anything to you?"

"No, what happened?"

Wei Guangde said suspiciously.

There doesn't seem to be anything fussy about today. They are all very ordinary official documents. Just follow the rules and draft them.

In fact, in the past two days, he didn't even see a memorial discussing the examination method.

Yes, Zhang Juzheng has been promoting the law for a long time. Even so, local memoranda against the law still appear from time to time, probably because they believe that this policy will cause local officials to implement harsh policies for the sake of political performance, causing people to live in dire straits.

In this regard, Wei Guangde could only refer to Zhang Juzheng's votes, which reiterated the solemn law.

What does it mean?

That is, if an official treats the people harshly, the court will naturally punish him.

But if the people are unwilling to pay taxes, it is understandable for officials to pursue them. They cannot refuse to pay money just because they have no money.

"Are you really not aware or are you pretending not to know? After Zhang Siwei entered the cabinet, he did not follow the wishes of the chief minister in everything. Your situation in the cabinet will be difficult in the future.

I told you before."

Tan Lun was about to continue speaking, but Wei Guangde interrupted in a low voice: "Brother Zili, of course I know about this, but who can stop him?

I drafted that decree, and the cabinet discussed it many times before finally deciding on the candidate.

Your worries are put back in your stomach and are not as evil as those spread outside. "

In the first assistant's duty room this afternoon, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng chatted for a long time, but neither of them mentioned Zhang Siwei.

"Then you should be more careful in the cabinet in the future. I don't think you will be able to handle Liu Tai's matter this time."

Tan Lun said softly. In the past few days, everyone in the official circles of the capital has been quietly discussing this matter. Most of them believe that this matter was instigated by Zhang Juzheng. Otherwise, even if Zhang Xueyan and Liu Tai were at odds in Liaodong, there would be no need to add insult to injury at this time.

Everyone is saying that Zhang Juzheng was hypocritically interceding for Liu Tai and should have planned it until today.

First, strip him of his official status and let him return to his hometown to be embarrassed, and then punish him.

According to the current charges against Zhang Xueyan and Luo Zhi, Liu Tai's exile is almost a certainty.

If he had been directly exiled from the capital, at least he would not have to return to his hometown and suffer the glare of his family's blind date.

With the chief minister being such a petty person, the officials around Wei Guangde naturally felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy, and were worried that Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng would get into a fight, and that they would not be in good hands when the time came.

“Don’t worry, although I don’t fully agree with all of Brother Uncle’s decisions, I still agree with those policies in general.

We will not attack each other over state affairs. Don't worry, we will negotiate in private. "

Wei Guangde explained in a low voice.

"But I have to be careful. I don't know if I'll offend him by saying that."

Tan Lun still insisted, "Do you still remember that the case where the King of Liao was deposed during the Longqing period was said to be behind the scenes by Zhang Juzheng."

Wei Guangde was stunned when he heard this. He also remembered this case at first but didn't tell anyone about it. Unexpectedly, someone in the capital still revealed the old events.

No way, there have been rumors that Zhang Juzheng's grandfather was killed by the King of Liao, although there is no evidence.

At first, everyone did not believe it, but Zhang Juzheng remained silent in the case of the deposed King of Liao.

Naturally, the rumors started to spread after that.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Wei Guangde immediately whispered: "The deposing of the King of Liao was related to his misconduct. It has nothing to do with Uncle Shu."

"Behaving badly, which vassal king is not like this?"

Tan Lun said disdainfully, and then told Wei Guangde in a rather mysterious manner, "As far as I know, the death of Uncle Zhang's great grandfather is indeed related to the King of Liao. It is said that he was tabooed by the King of Liao because of his natural intelligence."

"Hey, it's nonsense. Uncle Zhang was smart when he was young. Who has heard that rumor before, but you don't believe it. If he was really jealous of the King of Liao, he was just a penniless boy, and the King of Liao had a hundred If Fa Zi kills him, he will wait until he becomes a Jinshi before retaliating."

What Wei Guangde said was true. Wei Guangde didn't believe the original rumors.

Zhang Juzheng was quite talented when he was young and was a famous local "prodigy".

If the King of Liao really didn't like him, he could just kill him. He was not afraid of anyone who dared to cause trouble.

However, after Zhang Juzheng gained fame, it would be quite troublesome to attack him again.

"Anyway, just be careful when dealing with him and don't get into his ways."

Tan Lun still reminded in a low voice.

"Nothing to do today?"

"Well, it's okay."

"Let's go to my house for a drink."

Wei Guangde said.

"That's fine."

Tan Lun didn't refuse, and nodded directly in agreement.

The two of them returned to their sedans, and the two sedans quickly headed towards Nanxunfang.

Wei Guangde contacted Chen Ju today, but the answer was that he would be on duty at Qianqing Palace tonight and would not be able to come out, so he made an appointment until tomorrow.

Just as Tan Lun came over, he was too lazy to find anyone else.

"Bang bang bang"

On the bank of Yingjiang River in western Yunnan, the scene that happened on the bank of Lujiang River a few days ago happened again.

The Lujiang defense line that the Burmese king Mang Yinglong had placed his hopes on naturally did not stop the attack of the Ming army. As soon as he left, the Ming army crossed the river behind him, conquered Lujiang City in half a day, and continued to follow.

The river network in western Yunnan is dense. Although Mang Yinglong, the commander of the army, crossed the Ruili River first, he was still blocked by the Ming army that was chasing him on the bank of Yingjiang.

"Quick, speed up and cross the river."

This time, Mang Yinglong had no intention of guarding the river bank and comforting his soldiers. He directly led his soldiers to cross the river first.

Those generals and chieftains made the same choice as him. They all chose to cross the river first to avoid being surrounded by the Ming army on the other side.

Even his most precious elephant soldiers could not be taken care of at this time.

What is a crushing defeat? This is a crushing defeat.

Even though the Burmese army's strength is still the same as the Ming army that is chasing them, they have lost the courage to turn back and fight again.

Looking at the chaotic army on the other side, Mang Yinglong felt mixed emotions.

In order to delay the attack speed of the Ming army and cover more people crossing the river, Mang Yinglong had sent the remaining elephant soldiers to cover the rear, hoping to use the characteristics of the war elephants' thick skin and flesh to delay time as much as possible. At first, he was a little worried that the soldiers on the other side would no longer obey his orders.

Fortunately, the news sent back still reassured him that the elephant soldiers had assembled the remaining more than 200 war elephants and launched an attack on the Ming army behind them.

At this time, the rumbling sound of artillery from the other side of the river was obviously the encounter between the Ming army's vanguard and the elephant soldiers who were left behind.

Thinking of the hundreds of war elephants that he had trained with great effort being lost in vain, Mang Yinglong felt heartbroken.

"Hanba, Mengboluo, go to the other side and organize the soldiers to cross the river. They are too slow to board the boats now."

Because there was no leader on the other side, everyone crowded on the river bank. It was quite difficult for the Burmese transport ships to leave the shore every time, because many soldiers were unwilling to give up the hope of survival.

"Yes, King."

Hanba and Mengboluo both clasped their fists and responded.

"If it is impossible, you can take your people along the Yingjiang River and withdraw from the Ming Kingdom from Tiebi Pass."

The lower reaches of the Yingjiang River in front of us are Tiebi Pass and Nanya Pass on the left and right.

There are mountains and ridges all around, and it is because of the existence of the Yingjiang River that there is a small open space on the riverside for the army to move.

Among them, Nanya Pass is the most conducive to the army's movement, and the road of Tiebi Pass is narrower and more dangerous, and no army can pass unless necessary.

And now, the Burmese king can only let Hanba and his men leave from Tiebi Pass. It can be seen that the situation is very bad, and they have to split their troops into two groups, hoping to disperse the Ming army's pursuit.

On this side, Mang Yinglong urgently made remedies and arranged influential leaders to command on the other side. On the other hand, he had to worry about the next journey.

After passing Yingjiang, to enter Mengyang smoothly, he had to cross the Jinsha River.

However, this journey was believed to be much better. He had already sent an order to his son Mang Yingli to find as many ferries as possible.

In front of the Ming army, dozens of Portuguese cannons were arranged in two rows and fired at the Burmese war elephants rushing across.

After the attack, many war elephants had been running around in the formation, constantly colliding with each other, and from time to time, Burmese soldiers were thrown off the backs of elephants.

"Prepare the bird guns, aim at the Burmese soldiers on the backs of the elephants, and shoot."

In front of the Ming army, the guerrilla Chen Tao shouted.