The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In the outer city of the Ming Dynasty, at the residence of Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei came here together. After first offering their condolences, they went into the next room to rest with Zhang Juzheng.

"Uncle, my condolences."

"Sir Shofu, you also need to take care of yourself."

"Hey, Lao Shandai and Ziwei have been busy these days. I can't take care of the cabinet. I will send a petition to Ding You in two days, and the state affairs will be entrusted to you two."

Zhang Juzheng sighed and said.

Wei Guangde still doesn't know what Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng talked about, but judging from the current situation, it seems that Zhang Juzheng is already preparing to return to his hometown Dingyou.

However, he was not in a hurry. As history entered, it was destined that Zhang Juzheng would be deprived of his love, so he could just go with the flow, and there was no need to force anything.

"I'll see you off then."

Wei Guangde said naturally.

"No need, good loans, national affairs are the most important thing, from now on the cabinet will be just the two of you, it's already hard enough."

Zhang Juzheng doesn't look good. After all, his father has just died. At this time, his face is gloomy and full of sadness. His usually well-tended beard is very messy at this time. It is obvious that he has no intention to pay attention to his appearance. .

"Actually, what I am most worried about is the Fujian incident, and the implementation after the law is passed."

Zhang Juzheng continued in a low tone, "I know that many people don't like the examination of the law. They think it increases the burden on officials and causes many conflicts. In particular, some local officials do many appalling things in order to complete their tasks.

However, now that the entrance exam law has been promulgated, I hope that the cabinet will continue to promote this matter and never give up halfway.

The past two years have been troubled times, with wars in eastern Liaoning and southwest China. If there had not been a law to allow local governments to collect taxes in a timely manner, the imperial court would have been completely in the red and would not have been able to support it until now.

In fact, the responsibility for many tragedies reported in the imperial history is not the examination of the law, but the wanton behavior of local governments, which is caused by the corruption of official governance.

As for Fujian, I hope that in the next two years we will still be able to complete the affairs of the Qing Dynasty and accumulate experience for the future. "

Zhang Juzheng's words at this time meant that he would entrust his funeral affairs. Obviously, although his father's death had a heavy blow to Zhang Juzheng's spirit, he had also thought about the possible harm to the political reform of the Ming Dynasty that he was promoting after returning to his hometown Dingyou.

But now, the only people he can count on are these two people, the first and second assistants of the Ming Dynasty cabinet in the future.

Zhang Siwei lowered his head and thought at this time, not knowing what he was thinking, while Wei Guangde nodded slightly, seeming to agree with Zhang Juzheng's words.

But before they could continue talking, a family member of the Zhang family came over from outside to report that Wang Guoguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had come to express his condolences with a group of officials from the Ministry of Personnel.

"You two, wait a moment, Zhang will go greet you."

Zhang Juzheng immediately stood up, apologized to Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei, and went out to greet them.

It is conceivable that the Zhang Mansion must be busy these two days, and officials in Beijing will come to express their condolences. After all, he is the chief minister of the dynasty.

Although the officials are divided into numerous factions internally, externally they are still one.

Officials with close relationships would naturally come to express their condolences in person, while those with distant relationships and lower-ranking officials would also come in person, just to show their faces in front of the adults.

Those with higher rankings, as well as nobles with less contact, would send their families to express their condolences.

It can be said that the mourning hall set up by the Zhang Mansion this time will definitely attract all the officials from the Fourth and Nine Cities here.

"Mr. Wei Ge, Zhang Shoufu's words."

After Zhang Juzheng went out, Zhang Siwei suddenly whispered.

"The imperial court has issued a decree. I think Brother Lai will make some arrangements. Now that it has been implemented, just follow the trend.

The imperial court spends money everywhere, and the examination method has indeed greatly increased the fiscal revenue of the Ministry of Household Affairs in the past two years, instead of the large amount of pending debts before.

Do you hope that in your hands and mine, the court will stop functioning because of lack of money? "

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly.

Although the exam has caused many tragedies in the world, as Zhang Juzheng said, the problem is not actually from the "law", but from the officials below who are not aware of the misdeeds. They just attribute all the mistakes to the exam, thinking that it is the exam that forces them to do these things. Things that cannot be said.

In fact, the real situation is that those who should be forced to pay are not forced to pay, and those who should not be forced to pay are forced to death. There may be some deliberate plans to cause trouble and cause trouble.

These bad things were used to highlight the so-called "disadvantages" of the test method, making scholars all over the world oppose this method.

They were people who entered the cabinet for the sake of a few taels of silver in their pockets. Even if they really cared about the few taels of silver, considering the money needed to maintain such a large court, who would really stop eating because of it.

It's just a matter of paying the current tax on time. If you lose a little money, some places can make up for it.

As long as the official position remains, there is no loss.

At this position, the first thing to ensure is the smooth operation of the court, which requires money.

People above and below think completely differently.

The people below are thinking about their own wallets, while the people above are thinking about the treasury of the Ministry of Accounts.

Therefore, no matter how hard the people below try, the cabinet or even the six ministries and nine ministers will never really give up on the method of filling the national treasury.

Although the examination method cannot directly increase fiscal revenue, it can really turn book figures into money.

But this is enough for them to make a choice.

If you can't pay enough taxes and money on time and amount, please don't continue to work as an official.

When Wei Guangde left Zhang Juzheng's mansion to express his condolences and returned to the mansion, Wei Guangde still did not see Zhang Ji.

After asking casually, he found out that the person was still outside and had not returned.

Wei Guangde knew that Zhang Ji should still be looking for information, so he did not send anyone to look for him and went back to the backyard to rest.

After it was completely dark, a maid came in to report that Zhang Guanjia was outside the inner courtyard to see him.

"What's the situation? Tell me."

In the inner courtyard study, Wei Guangde asked someone to bring Zhang Ji in and asked directly without waiting for him to salute.

"Master, there is no news."

Zhang Ji lowered his head and stood solemnly, saying in a low voice.

Obviously, this matter was not handled well.

But Wei Guangde was not angry. After all, it was the prime minister's mansion, and some precautions must be taken.

Especially since the people they met were the internal and external ministers of the dynasty, they could still block the left and right and prevent others from approaching.

"You Qi has been guarding outside and not letting others get close, so the news has not been found.

Even if I contacted Eunuch Feng and the people around You Qi, I still have no clue."

Zhang Ji continued to whisper.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, "I know, you will continue to keep an eye on them in the future, and promptly investigate the opinions of the court and the public."

Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao must have talked about something extremely important, otherwise they would not have kept it so secret.

If he had not vaguely remembered the "love-stealing incident", Wei Guangde might have thought that he would become the prime minister in turn.

There is no doubt that Zhang Juzheng was "love-stealing", not because of him, but because of Feng Bao's efforts in the harem.

Think about it, if Zhang Juzheng showed that he did not want to return to his hometown to mourn from the beginning, his character would be completely denied.

If the palace asked him to take his love, he was just following the order, which would be another matter.

Although in the eyes of the teacher, he should disobey the order and insist on returning to his hometown to mourn for his father.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng was also sitting quietly in the study. He did not stay in the mourning hall, but let his son stay there.

After this day, he had spread the news that he was going back to his hometown to mourn. Many officials came. After they paid their respects, Zhang Juzheng pulled them to give instructions.

Naturally, these words were aimed at him leaving the court, hoping that everyone would continue to support the political reform of the Ming Dynasty that he had already launched.

He showed his concerns after leaving in front of everyone, which led to the abandonment halfway.

This is actually human nature.

There were too many people who opposed it, and the introduction of the performance evaluation system caused an uproar in the officialdom.

Although the opposition to the Fujian survey this time was much smaller, everyone knew it in their hearts, but they dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.

With the Liu Tai incident, who would still scratch the tiger's beard?

Therefore, it was human nature and reasonable for him to show his concerns about the new policy.

After doing so much, Zhang Juzheng was actually most worried about the fundamental, that is, what the attitude of the palace was.

Can the Empress Dowager and the Emperor be persuaded by Feng Bao to choose to seize the love?

Zhang Juzheng was not sure about this.

Zhang Juzheng thought that he was not a person who coveted power, but he also knew that after decades of official career, his ideals were gradually becoming reality.

But the sudden news of his father's death might directly disrupt his arrangement and make his previous efforts fall short.

In fact, before knowing Feng Bao's arrival, Zhang Juzheng himself did not make a final decision.

However, Feng Bao's arrival brought Empress Dowager Li to remind him of the original agreement, that is, the harem needed him to stabilize the court, and correspondingly, his position would be guaranteed to be stable.

At the beginning, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao jointly targeted Gao Gong. It seemed that it was just a game between the three forces, but in fact, behind Gao Gong's back, Empress Dowager Li also participated in it for her son, the young emperor Zhu Yijun, to be able to firmly hold on to power.

Although Zhang Juzheng did not mention the so-called political reform at that time, Empress Dowager Li and Feng Bao made it clear that he would become the chief minister of the Ming Cabinet and would ensure the stability of his position.

Correspondingly, Zhang Juzheng had to guarantee Feng Bao's interests in the court, to ensure the stability of the court, and to smoothly take over power when the little emperor grew up.

The secret power core formed between them was to exclude Wei Guangde and other cabinet ministers.

Zhang Juzheng often seemed to compromise with Wei Guangde, but in fact it was just for the court officials to see.

His power as the chief minister was also restricted by the second assistant Wei Guangde, and could not be decided by one word.

Otherwise, his behavior would easily be accused of "arbitrary" by the court officials, and they would unite against him.

So now it depends on how Feng Bao and Empress Dowager Li view their cooperative relationship.

If Empress Dowager Li still needs him to stabilize the court, then she will "take away his feelings" and continue to guarantee his position as the chief minister of the Ming cabinet.

And if Empress Dowager Li thinks that Wei Guangde and other cabinet ministers can do it, and it is not necessary for him, Zhang Juzheng, to do it, then this time it is very likely that she will not "take away his feelings" and let him hand over his power.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng, who was already well versed in politics, knew very well that the best way to ensure the stability of the young emperor's power was to replace him and let others take over his position as the prime minister.

In this way, after a few more years, Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun would be old enough to rule the country, and the new prime minister would only be in office for a few years, and would not be able to cover the world with one hand.

In this way, the imperial power could truly fall into the hands of the young emperor.

However, Zhang Juzheng was not sure whether Feng Bao's reminder was a test from Empress Dowager Li.

"Alas"

Finally, a long sigh came from Zhang Juzheng in the study.

He knew the consequences of staying in the court and not returning to his hometown for mourning. He would block the way for others, and the Qingliu people would definitely dislike him.

But what could he do?

The attitude of the harem was more like a test. If he could not satisfy Empress Dowager Li this time, it would be a difficult question whether he would have a chance to be reinstated in three years.

But if he really chose to take away his love half-heartedly, the censors would surely impeach him like crazy for not observing filial piety and being unworthy of being the chief minister.

Leaving would mean completely giving up the core of power, and it is very likely that he would never get ahead again.

With Wei Guangde's character, he would definitely not choose to offend all officials in the world to promote the so-called political reform.

Just as Zhang Juzheng was thinking wildly, Feng Baozheng knelt in the Cining Palace and reported the affairs of Zhang Mansion to Empress Dowager Li.

"You mean he is wavering and has not decided whether to stay or go?"

"Yes, I dare not hide it, the Prime Minister seems to have not made up his mind."

"How did he react after you told me what I said?"

"The Prime Minister was very terrified, but he also said that even if he accepted the love-taking, it would probably cause a shock in the court."

"Feng Bao, I want to ask you, if the emperor takes the love-taking, is it good or bad for the court?"

At this moment, the dignified face of the Empress Dowager Li inadvertently revealed a trace of awe, and her eyes were fixed on Feng Bao.

"This"

At this time, Feng Bao, who was kneeling on the ground, lowered his head, but did not dare to look up.

"Tell me the truth, is the Prime Minister's new policy good or bad for the court?"

Although the Empress Dowager Li was a woman, she could not see the right or wrong of Zhang Juzheng's reform measures, but she could still perceive that there were serious problems in the Ming Dynasty court.

Before Jiajing, the court had deficits, but at that time there was still the Taicang old warehouse as a bottom, so the court's expenditures were not affected.

However, in the middle and late Jiajing period, because the old treasury was exhausted and the court was short of money, various problems were exposed.

The harem also felt the financial difficulties of the court, because during the years when Emperor Longqing was in power, the harem only changed its headgear three times.

In theory, it was just a small matter for the emperor to make jewelry for the concubines in the harem.

But even for the small matter of asking the court for money, the Ministry of Revenue was reluctant to give money.

From that time on, Empress Dowager Li began to pay attention to the affairs of the outer court.

She chose to cooperate with Zhang Juzheng because Feng Bao hinted that if Zhang Juzheng became the chief minister, the inner court would no longer be troubled by insufficient money.

And in these years, the former court responded to the needs of the inner court, so Empress Dowager Li also trusted Zhang Ju more and more.

Especially when she was conferred the title of Empress Dowager, she should have been the Grand Consort, but Zhang Juzheng chose to promote her to the position of Empress, which made her even happier.

The title of Empress Dowager should have been a special honor that could only be obtained after the death of Empress Dowager Chen or after her death.

She was used to having Zhang Juzheng in charge of the affairs of the court, because he made her happy.

As for the other minister of state, Feng Bao's repeated attempts showed that he was not the best candidate. (End of this chapter)