The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After the news of Zhang Juzheng's father's death reached the capital, Zhang Juzheng petitioned to return to his hometown to guard the system. Then Li Youzi, the Minister of Household Affairs, petitioned to "seize love" and the chief assistant stayed in Beijing to guard the system.

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The emperor complied with the public opinion and refused to criticize the emperor, demanding "seizing love". Then Zhang Han made a petition against "seizing love" and was dismissed from office.

What happened after that seemed to be uneventful, and the General Affairs Department never received any complaints from other officials about this.

No one expressed support or opposition, as if it had nothing to do with them.

Very smoothly, Zhang Juzheng and the emperor completed three invitations and three resignations. Until the content of Zhang Juzheng's fourth memorial came out, the officialdom of the capital was shocked.

As mentioned before, everyone believed that Zhang Juzheng, the leader of the hundred officials, would choose to abide by the etiquette system. In the fourth memorial, he continued to insist on returning to his hometown to observe the system, which would also make the emperor understand his filial piety.

But no one expected that in the fourth memorial, which truly revealed his inner thoughts, Zhang Juzheng would choose to stay in Beijing and abide by the system. Such a naked greed for power is intolerable not only to those officials who hope to progress, but also to those who respect Zhang Juzheng. accepted.

To them, this is a naked betrayal.

They could regard the rumors in the capital as malicious slander by some people.

But when the facts were clearly laid out, they couldn't accept it at all.

Yes, they couldn't accept the fact that the person they respected actually gave up filial piety for power and conspired with the eunuchs of the inner court to "steal love."

The conditions mentioned in the memorial, such as being brought into the cabinet in plain clothes, serving daily lectures and readings, being exempted from salary when resigning, being in the official position, etc., in their eyes at this time, were nothing more than a cover-up and a small trick to deceive everyone.

Before the emperor could approve it, some people began to complain about it.

No one thought that those who attacked Zhang Juzheng this time were not Zhang Juzheng's political opponents hidden in the court, but Zhang Juzheng's students who had always supported him.

Wu Zhongxing, editor of the Hanlin Academy, asked Shangshu to let Zhang Juzheng go home to attend the funeral of his father.

Wuzhongxing, named Zidao and named Fu'an, was a native of Wujin County, Changzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili Province. He was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing's reign. He was selected as a good scholar and was awarded the title of editor of the Hanlin Academy.

That year, Wei Guangde was originally supposed to preside over the examination, but because he hurriedly returned to Dingyou, Jiangxi, Emperor Longqing finally asked Zhang Juzheng to support the imperial examination and become the tutor of this generation of Jinshi.

As a student, Wu Zhongxing took the lead in impeaching Zhang Juzheng, which undoubtedly shook the officialdom of the capital like a bomb.

Wei Guangde originally wanted to see who Zhang Juzheng's enemies were and pay more attention to them, but he never expected that Zhang Juzheng's own people would jump out to oppose him before his political enemies jumped out.

Perhaps at this time, even Zhang Juzheng himself was in a state of confusion.

Wu Zhongxing's memorial came through the General Affairs Office, so even though Feng Bao suppressed the memorial, Wei Guangde copied the original from the General Affairs Office and saw the full text of the memorial.

"Sir, there is news outside that Editor Wu went to the residence of the First Assistant before submitting the memorial. There is a legend that the memorial was shown to Zhang First Assistant before the memorial was submitted."

Lu Bu's voice appeared in Wei Guangde's ears at the right time, and it was like a blockbuster.

At this time, Wei Guangde suddenly felt sympathy for Zhang Juzheng.

There was "Liu Tai" before him and Wu Zhongxing behind him. The two key people were Zhang's students.

With them taking the lead against Zhang, it's hard to imagine how other Zhang's so-called student unions would choose. If they all rush to impeach Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Juzheng's bad reputation will never be washed away no matter how hard he is.

Don’t look at this issue from the perspective of future generations, because in later generations of Chinese people, there has long been no traditional “etiquette”. In their view, it is just a three-day suspension of mourning, with relatives and friends sitting together to eat and drink.

Perhaps, only close relatives will grieve for the deceased for a while.

All the work is done by a "one-stop service", so it can be done as simply as possible.

But this is still an era when the Ming Dynasty, a feudal dynasty, attaches great importance to filial piety.

It was against Zhang Juzheng's filial piety to be spurned in front of him, but his students stabbed him in the back repeatedly. To be honest, Wei Guangde admired that in such adversity, Zhang Juzheng could still sit firmly in the position of chief minister and implement his reforms. Unwavering.

In order to implement the previous examination law smoothly, Zhang Juzheng dealt with it one after another. For example, Yu Maoxue, who was in charge of household affairs in Nanjing at the time, was dismissed from his post as a civilian, Fu Yingzhen, who was the censor at the time, was sent to the army, and Liu Tai, who was the inspector of Liaodong at the time, was sent to the army. Go to jail etc.

Zhang Juzheng has long aroused strong dissatisfaction by severely cracking down on officials and forcibly promoting the implementation of the examination law.

Now as Zhang Juzheng's reforms continue to advance, opposition forces are also continuing to accumulate.

Wei Guangde has already seen why there were so many twists and turns after Zhang Juzheng's death. Those officials who had opposed Zhang Juzheng and were hit because of this could not come back without revenge after they came back to power.

That would definitely be an end in which the Zhang family would be punished until death.

Wei Guangde didn't know yet that another student of Zhang Juzheng, Zhao Yongxian, who was also a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing, was also writing furiously at this time, preparing to impeach Zhang Juzheng, objecting to his failure to observe his father's filial piety, and asking him to return to his hometown immediately to observe the system.

There is no hesitation in saying that this time because of Zhang Juzheng's "love-stealing" incident, the number of officials who support Zhang Juzheng is far less than those who oppose him.

If Zhang Juzheng could recognize the reality and choose to retreat bravely at this time, his family would not be liquidated so badly in the future.

Wei Guangde still stayed in his duty room and did not go out. He just dealt with the memorials sent to him, as if he was oblivious to the outside world.

In the duty room not far from him, Zhang Siwei was fidgeting at this time.

Yes, although Zhang Siwei entered the cabinet with the help of Zhang Juzheng, the power he represented was unwilling to let him become a complete vassal of Zhang Juzheng.

Now it is beneficial for them to join Zhang Juzheng, so Zhang Siwei is still willing to do his best to work for him after Zhang Juzheng, but it does not mean that they must be tied to Zhang Juzheng.

At this time, Zhang Siwei has the possibility of further progress, and he is naturally very tempted.

In the past two days, discussions on this have been held many times in Zhang Siwei's home, and Zhang Siwei is also very tempted.

However, because they saw that the second assistant Wei Guangde did not move at all, Zhang Siwei and the talents behind them could barely endure it and did not dare to make any rash moves.

After all, it is impossible for Zhang Siwei to replace Zhang Juzheng. There is also Wei Guangde in the cabinet. In terms of seniority and status, he cannot surpass Wei Guangde to replace Zhang Juzheng.

However, after seeing Wu Zhongxing's memorial today, Zhang Siwei's suppressed heart began to become restless.

The addiction to power is so attractive that people can't stop.

"Master, that Lu Bu has come out of the duty room of the second assistant."

The clerk reported in a low voice in front of Zhang Siwei.

"Did Wei Guangde make any moves? Or did Lu Bu go to find someone?"

Zhang Siwei stood still after hearing this and asked immediately.

"No, Lu Bu was guarding outside the duty room after coming out, just like in the past. I didn't find him looking for anyone.

Although I don't know what Wei Cifu is doing in the room, he didn't come out. He should still be reviewing memorials."

The clerk replied in a low voice.

"Go and keep an eye on it. Report to me in time if there is any news."

Zhang Siwei frowned slightly, then waved his hand to let someone go.

It can be said that Wei Guangde's silent performance made Zhang Siwei feel puzzled.

It was difficult for him to understand that Wei Guangde could be patient and not fight for the position of Prime Minister.

At this time, although there was a mourning hall outside Zhang Juzheng's mansion, the number of officials who came to the mansion increased a lot more than in the past.

Yes, in the past three days, many officials came here to pay their respects. Almost all officials and nobles in the officialdom of the entire capital came in person or sent people to pay their respects.

In the next few days, the number of guests who came here to pay their respects every day began to decrease.

However, today, the number of people who came here suddenly increased.

Because there were too many people, they crowded in the film room, making the Zhang family overwhelmed.

There is no doubt that these people came to visit Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng.

However, only a small number of them could see Zhang Juzheng.

At this time, in the flower hall of Zhang's mansion, Zhang Juzheng looked at Ai Mu, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Shen Sixiao, the chief, standing in front of him with an expressionless face. He didn't know what he was thinking, and he turned a deaf ear to what they said.

These two people were his fellow villagers from Huguang. They came here to ask for an audience, and Zhang Juzheng chose to meet them. However, after the greetings, the two soon led the topic to the matter of "seizing love".

There is no doubt that they were also against "seizing love". At this time, they were persuading Zhang Juzheng to give up the position of the prime minister and return to his hometown to mourn and wait for his reinstatement.

Just now, Zhang Juzheng had received the news of Wu Zhongxing's memorial.

As rumored by the outside world, Wu Zhongxing first showed the memorial to Zhang Juzheng, and once again persuaded him to return to his hometown to observe the mourning instead of staying in the capital.

However, Zhang Juzheng refused and used the imperial order to prevaricate.

Although he did not threaten directly, Zhang Juzheng believed that he had expressed his meaning clearly enough and hoped that he would not submit the memorial.

But obviously, his words did not stop Wu Zhongxing's behavior, and he still handed in the memorial.

"I am tired, please go back.

It is time to go to the yamen now. It is wrong for you to come here. Have you asked for leave from your superiors?

It is better to go back to the yamen to do your work quickly, so as not to be punished by your superiors."

Zhang Juzheng finally broke down. He was in a bad mood because of his father's death. The "love seizure" incident, especially Wu Zhongxing's impeachment, made him depressed.

Now, these two so-called "fellow villagers" kept talking in front of him for a long time. They only cared about etiquette and did not care about the feelings of him, the person involved, which really made Zhang Juzheng feel cold.

You know, they were able to enter the Ministry of Justice in Beijing, but they did not lack his help.

At this time, they did not speak for him, but came to persuade him for fame, which made him feel disgusted.

After speaking, Zhang Juzheng did not give them time to speak, and walked out of the flower hall.

For the two people inside, there were naturally servants in the Zhang Mansion to clear them out of the mansion.

Zhang Juzheng had no intention to consider what Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao were thinking.

Maybe it was for his own good, or maybe it was for the so-called "reputation", but at this time, it was too late to say anything.

The memorial had been sent out, and everyone outside knew what he was thinking. Even if Zhang Juzheng regretted it again and chose to return home, he would still become a laughing stock among those people.

How could Zhang Juzheng, who always thought highly of himself, tolerate this?

Zhang Juzheng returned to the study, but just as he sat down, another servant came to report.

"Don't see them. Let them pay their respects, drink tea and rest for a while, and then leave."

Zhang Juzheng had no intention of seeing anyone at this time. He had guessed that most of these officials who came again had the same idea as Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao, and wanted to persuade him to leave.

The same thing, even if it was really for his own good, it was too late now.

"Master, this is a note from Eunuch Feng."

However, this time the servant did not leave immediately, but handed over an envelope with both hands and said.

Hearing that it was Feng Bao's note, Zhang Juzheng also guessed that Feng Bao knew the news, so he was a little flustered.

He took it, opened it and took a look, and it was indeed to discuss a solution.

"Is he still there?"

Zhang Juzheng asked.

"Yes, waiting for the master's reply."

The servant replied hurriedly.

"Go tell him that I know, please ask Eunuch Feng to deal with it yourself."

Zhang Juzheng didn't even bother to write a note, and directly asked someone to take the message back.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng did this for insurance.

If he really left a note, it would be even worse once it was exposed.

The note written by Feng Bao was actually to inform him in advance of his solution to this, so that Zhang Juzheng and him could not coordinate.

Feng Bao was also an old hand in the inner court, so he naturally had a way to find excuses to solve the crisis in the palace.

It can be said that none of the eunuchs who could stand out in the inner court were simple.

Li Fang was just lucky back then. He was chosen to be by Prince Yu's side after leaving the inner court, and he gained experience bit by bit.

In the end, he was able to stand out in the palace because of Prince Yu's rapid rise to power.

It was also because he had never experienced the inner court struggle that he was defeated in just over a year and was driven to Nanjing.

That was still good. Thanks to the help of Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others, the eunuchs in the palace also had concerns and did not take ruthless actions.

Feng Bao was not like that. He won the struggle in the harem, so naturally he had many ways. That was to say, he was a little powerless when dealing with the outer court and needed the help of Zhang Juzheng.

Just like Zhang Juzheng thought, Feng Bao did not intend to suppress the memorial. He already knew Wei Guangde's plan, so he just exposed these people's idea of ​​"seeking fame" to the nobles in the palace.

As for how the nobles treated them, it was none of Feng Gong's business.

At this time, it was Feng Bao who really took action, while Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng stood by and did nothing. Zhang Siwei was restless and wanted to take the opportunity to make trouble, but when he saw that Wei Guangde did not move, he gave up.

In terms of struggle, Zhang Siwei thought he was not as experienced as Wei Guangde.

In any case, Wei Guangde had fought against Gao Gong with Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhan and others, and his experience in political struggle was much richer than his.

But he didn't know that Wei Guangde had the advantage of being a prophet, so he could stand on the side of the winner every time.

In terms of struggle methods, to be honest, ordinary people in later generations can't beat these old-timers in the workplace.

If he was also in the officialdom in his later life, perhaps the situation would be different.

But knowing the general direction of history is already a great advantage.

Therefore, the history of this life has not changed much, and the main cabinet ministers have not taken action, but some "jumping clowns" below are active in the court.

The only "Nine Ministers" who stood up was also yesterday's news. (End of this chapter)