The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The three of them were drinking and eating meat at Wei Guangde's house, while guessing who arranged for Wei Guangde to go south and what was the purpose?

Naturally, nothing came up. After all, the three of them were like blind men trying to figure out the elephant, unable to get a full picture.

However, Wei Guangde also heard it. Neither of them was very optimistic about his future appointment to the cabinet. Instead, they thought that he might be in charge of one of the six yamen, or even the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Thinking about Wei Guangde, he probably understood that although "non-Hanlin Academy members will not join the cabinet" was not a necessary condition for cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty, there were indeed very few cabinet ministers without Hanlin Academy experience.

Compared with the previous dynasty's statement that "the prime minister must start from the state department", the cabinet members of the Ming Dynasty did not have rich local administrative experience, and it can even be said that they had no local experience at all.

However, this does not mean that the selection system of the modern cabinet is unreasonable.

First of all, Hanlin officials are the emperor's close servants, and may even be the emperor's teachers. They are relatively familiar with each other and can easily establish a "trust relationship." In an imperial society, nothing is more important to governance than the emperor's trust.

Secondly, Hanlin officials were the most successful people in the imperial examinations. Taking this as their qualification could reduce the struggle for power and internal friction within the bureaucracy and make it easier for them to be recognized by their colleagues in the officialdom.

Third, Hanlin officials have no experience in local administration, which does not mean they have no experience in handling government affairs. They have served in the central government for a long time, are responsible for drafting edicts and other matters, and are familiar with document exchanges and administrative operation mechanisms.

Finally, these Hanlin officials did not engage in local politics, so they had nothing to do with the intricate local forces. After they came to power, they had to avoid suspicion in their hometowns. Instead, they could "equalize the water in a bowl" and handle the relations between all parties in a more balanced manner. .

Wei Guangde met the qualifications for Hanlin to enter the cabinet, but his flaw was still obvious, that is, his literary talent was not obvious.

Wei Guangde originally prepared a large number of essays for the imperial examination, and with a little bit of luck, he was able to reach where he is today.

For those who are not familiar with Wei Guangde, Wei Guangde is a legend and ranks very high. Naturally, they will think that he has a lot of writing skills. However, those who are familiar with him know that in fact, Wei Guangde's literary talent is not outstanding, but very ordinary.

Well, literati look down on each other, that's probably the case.

As for joining the cabinet, there are actually two ways to do it, either through appointment by the emperor, or through selection and court recommendation. The ministers of the court elect the candidates and then the emperor determines the candidates.

First of all, the simplest and most direct one is the emperor's appointment. There were not many such cabinet ministers in the Ming Dynasty, because most of the ministers who were favored by the emperor would directly refuse the emperor's orders. They would rather resign than enter the cabinet through the emperor's unilateral will.

Because it is difficult for a cabinet formed in this form to get the support of the six ministries, it can easily lead to chaos in the country, and they will become national criminals.

The selection was naturally made by the Ministry of Personnel who selected candidates for the Emperor's decision based on the results of previous years' assessments, or by the recommendation of officials of the third rank or above in the court, who recommended two or three people and reported them to the Emperor for selection.

Cabinet ministers who come out in this way, let alone their ability to do things, must meet the most basic condition of "high moral character and high respect", so that someone will support you, otherwise you will not be included in this big list.

Morality and prestige, these two things are relatively difficult to deal with based on their familiarity with Wei Guangde.

Of course, this does not mean that Wei Guangde's moral character is unworthy or defective, but that this character actually needs to be reflected in poetry and articles to a large extent, and this is Wei Guangde's weakness.

Chinese people are accustomed to judging a person's character by his works. If the poems and articles are good, then the person's character is good, and there will be no problem with his moral character.

As for prestige, this needs to be accumulated, and it is not what Wei Guangde can possess now.

Of course, Wei Guangde is only twenty years old now, so he is not in a hurry.

After seeing the two off, Wei Guangde did not go back to his room to rest. Instead, he sat in the study alone and thought.

As Zhang Ke said, Wei Guangde feels that the route he is currently assigned seems to deviate from what he originally wanted.

The first goal of officials who entered the Hanlin Academy was naturally to join the cabinet, and Wei Guangde was no exception.

However, he seemed to be an outlier among his colleagues in the Hanlin Academy.

As a Hanlin official, he was constantly sent out on official business.

It is not that Hanlin Academy officials cannot be sent abroad, but most of them are on errands such as canonization by feudal kings, and what he does is highly overlapped with the work of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Could it be that I really have no hope of joining the cabinet?

Wei Guangde never thought that he would not be able to join the cabinet. In fact, after learning that he was selected as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, the ultimate goal of his official career was already aimed at the cabinet, and that was his end.

However, Zhang Ke's words today, as well as the errands he received, all secretly revealed another possibility. Perhaps he would be sent to a department in the Sixth Department like most of his colleagues until the end of his stay in the Hanlin Academy. , or simply go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate as an errand.

If you survive until the end, you may be able to become a court official and become a second-rank minister in the court.

Although he was a little reluctant, it was the first time that Wei Guangde had the idea in his heart that perhaps the Sixth Film was his final destination.

As for which Yamen you will go to in the end?

Wei Guangde was also a little unsure. After the First World War in Baoan Prefecture, the Ministry of War wanted to get him there, but in the end Emperor Jiajing probably thought that he still needed to be tempered and rejected the proposal.

The Ministry of War is naturally one of his most likely places to go.

However, this will happen at least twenty years later, and the person who makes the decision may not be the same person today.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of King Yu.

When he met Gao Gong before, Gao Gong mentioned that after knowing that Wei Guangde gave up entering Prince Yu's palace, Prince Yu seemed a little disappointed, but Wei Guangde's words made sense and he didn't say anything.

When Wei Guangde entered Prince Yu's Mansion, all he could do was give some ideas, and work as an errand for the Zhan Shifu to supervise Prince Yu's words and deeds, which was really no more helpful to Prince Yu's Mansion than Wei Guangde gaining some power by working as an errand outside.

Although the current Emperor Jiajing has always been in good health, as Jia Yingchun gained a foothold in the household department and became more powerful, some aspects of Prince Yu's palace also began to loosen up, and it was not as tight as it was back then.

Such changes naturally made King Yu slowly develop some ideas, and his desire for power was rising rapidly.

However, although Gao Gong was no longer on duty at Prince Yu's Mansion, he privately asked Yin Shizhen and others many times to pay more attention to Prince Yu's performance, especially his greed for power.

These were told by Gao Gong and Wei Guangde. When he was chatting with Zhang Juzheng in the Imperial College, Zhang Juzheng reminded him many times to pay attention to King Yu's recent words and deeds.

Nowadays, with both kings in the capital, it is important to be consistent in words and deeds.

In front of Wei Guangde, Gao Gong did not shy away from valuing Zhang Juzheng, saying that he was talented, decisive and his ability was quite reassuring.

Wei Guangde could tell that the relationship between the two seemed to be developing rapidly after they met in the Imperial College.

Perhaps, if Gao Gong had not died early, Zhang Juzheng might not have had a chance to come forward.

Wei Guangde had never heard of Gao Gong in later generations, but Zhang Juzheng's name was often seen. It was said that he was the last hope of the Ming Dynasty, but he was the last to die.

From this, Wei Guangde can only speculate that it may be because Gao Gong died early that he did not leave a famous name in history, but took advantage of Zhang Juzheng.

These days, the level of medical care is like this. The emperor's son died in infancy. This shows that the mortality rate from illness is still very high. Didn't King Yu just die?

In private, Gao Gong always insisted that Prince Yu was the crown prince chosen by Emperor Jiajing.

Well, if even the people around King Yu like them have no confidence in this, how can they gather a group of people around King Yu.

Therefore, Gao Gong often talked with Wei Guangde about the current situation and how to eliminate the shortcomings of the imperial court.

At this time, Gao Gong had an upright character and was able to follow the good deeds and listen to other people's opinions. In his opinion, the Ming Dynasty was struggling to reach the present. The fundamental reason was improper employment of personnel, which led to corrupt officials and lawless people. As long as the court was cleaned up and officials were allowed to govern Qingming , the Ming Dynasty will gradually recover its vitality.

Wei Guangde was noncommittal about this. There were so many corrupt officials that it was impossible to arrest or kill them all. Taizu's brutal anti-corruption campaign back then failed to curb corruption.

Wei Guangde saw articles about the demise of the Ming Dynasty in later generations. In fact, most of them mentioned one word, "death due to financial collapse." However, although Wei Guangde now knows that the Ming Dynasty's financial problems are serious, he really does not see that the court is short of money. .

Without him, there is plenty in Chang Ying's treasury, but the conditions for withdrawal are very harsh. When the country is in crisis, it is impossible for this money to be waiting in the treasury to be given to the new master.

Therefore, when he was still studying in the countryside, Wei Guangde wanted to find a way to solve the financial problems of the court after entering the court, and if possible, change history and make himself a figure comparable to Zhang Juzheng.

But after entering the court and learning more, Wei Guangde suddenly discovered that it seemed that later generations' analysis was wrong. Therefore, when Wei Guangde talked about Gao Gong's future policy strategies, he tried his best to show support and understanding, because he was really very understanding. Confused and don't know what to do.

There are definitely problems with the administration of officials, but if he wants to fight against corruption, Wei Guangde thinks he can't do it.

Not to mention the Ming Dynasty, later generations continued to fight against corruption. Instead, anti-corruption became a common method for political forces to compete with each other and to fight against each other, and a weapon to attack political opponents.

When countless people applauded corrupt officials for putting an end to the law, they never realized that they were just the outcome of a failed political struggle.

Wei Guangde didn't think much of Gao Gong's strategy. It was basically just a small attack, and its effect on the court seemed to be very limited.

As for other issues, in Gao Gong's view, they are actually related to the administration of officials. If the right people are used, other mistakes can be avoided, and there is no need to make major changes to the court system.

That is to say, when it comes to external issues, Gao Gong's attitude is very strong, with just one word: "fight".

When Gao Gong and Wei Guangde said this, Wei Guangde actually understood in his heart. Perhaps the important reason was that Wei Guangde and others understood that King Yu was the real one, and they just had to follow King Yu closely.

Speaking of which, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng had not met more than three times at the wine table, and the time for communication was very little, because Zhang Juzheng spent most of his time at the Imperial College.

In the Hanlin Academy, there were not many errands to do. After he recovered from his illness, there was no work for him to do in the Academy.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng only maintained a relationship where they were familiar with each other and bowed to each other when they met.

Although he knew that Zhang Juzheng would be very good in the future, Wei Guangde couldn't stand up to him, at least not if he didn't have a chance.

Thinking of this is because Wei Guangde has realized that when King Yu comes to power in the future, the officialdom will be a high-arching territory and will never allow others to interfere.

The only ones left are the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Punishment. The Ministry of Revenue is good, but Wei Guangde really doesn’t want to get involved. The affairs are too complicated. The other two yamen seem to be a little worse. There are not as many people in the Ministry of Husbandry, and even less so in the Ministry of Justice.

As for the Ministry of Rites, Wei Guangde had never considered it, unless he could sneak into the Hanlin Academy to study and lecture as a bachelor, then he would have a chance to take a look there.

After finishing the errands this time, it would be better to walk around with Zhang Juzheng more and burn incense in advance. After all, his teacher is still the second assistant in the cabinet.

Wei Guangde sat in the study very late, and then got up and went back to his bedroom. At this time, Xu Jianglan went to bed by herself after urging Wei Guangde several times to no avail.

Under the service of the maid, Wei Guangde undressed and climbed onto the bed. With the help of the faint light outside the tent, what he saw was a picture of a beautiful woman sleeping.

At this time, Xu Jianglan turned sideways, placed her arms up and down in front of her chest, her hair spread like clouds on the pillow, her beautiful eyes were slightly closed, her red lips were slightly open, her Qiong nose exhaled slightly, and she slept deeply Quiet.

The soft quilt covered her body, revealing her bulging breasts and slender waist, outlining a seductive curve.

At this moment, Wei Guangde felt that his body was starting to heat up. He didn't know if it was because he was drunk or something. He stared at it for a while, and after appreciating it, he couldn't help but stick out his tongue and lick his dry lips. He pulled back the quilt and got out. Go in.

"Last night it was rainy and windy, and I couldn't get rid of the remaining wine even after a deep sleep.

When I asked the person behind the curtain, I found that Begonia was still the same.

Do you know? It should be green, red and thin. "

After a late spring night, Wei Guangde's biological clock was still working. He woke up early. Lying in bed, Wei Guangde unconsciously recited Li Qingzhao's "Like a Dream" in a low voice.

After lying down for a while, Wei Guangde woke up completely. After the trouble last night, Wei Guangde had already woken up from the drunkenness and felt refreshed.

Without waking up Xu Jianglan, who was still sleeping, Wei Guangde quietly got up and got out of bed, asked the maid in the outer room to fetch water to wash up, and went to the yard to exercise as usual.

The body is the capital of revolution.

At all times, you must have a good body.

Wei Guangde is still very satisfied with this life, so he must eat well and live well.

However, when he packed up and went out to go to the Hanlin Academy for duty, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of what happened yesterday and sighed. He didn't know when this decree would come down, and he was afraid that it would be another random trip.

Come early, it's best to set off before the canal freezes. At least you can still take a boat to the south.