The Prosperous Era of Longwan

When the sun disappears in the western sky, only a gray earth is left.

On the streets of Beijing, the number of pedestrians, vehicles and horses has decreased significantly at this time. Although there is still some time before the curfew, people are also on their way home quickly.

It was at this time that Wei Guangde's house welcomed a guest.

"Don't be offended if you come uninvited."

After Gao Gong entered the door, he looked at Wei Guangde who came out and said.

"There, Brother Suqing comes to the door. The plum blossoms are shining brightly. Please come inside."

Wei Guangde invited Gao Gong in with a smile on his face, but he still looked at the official uniform he was wearing with some surprise.

Except for official business, usually when visiting people, they would change into regular clothes. No one would run around in official uniforms. Firstly, official uniforms are expensive and difficult to clean if they get dirty. Secondly, they are a bit ostentatious.

But seeing Gao Gong come here today without changing his clothes, Wei Guangde couldn't help but wonder where he came from.

After entering the room and sitting down, Gao Gong noticed Wei Guangde's curious eyes and said directly: "I just came out of Xiyuan and didn't have time to change."

Hearing Gao Gong say this, Wei Guangde understood, "Businessmen from my hometown came over two days ago and brought a lot of local products. I have asked the kitchen to prepare a table of wine and food, and we can chat while eating."

"I will definitely eat and drink at your place tonight, but let me ask you first, did you write the Qing Ci you handed in today?"

Gao Gong first nodded and smiled, and then asked seriously.

When Gao Gong asked about Qing Ci, Wei Guangde began to feel guilty. Could it be that Gao Gong saw that he had pieced together Qing Ci.

Wei Guangde tried his best to keep the expression on his face unchanged, but he saw that Gao Gong's face was already filled with sadness.

"Is there anything wrong with that Qing Ci?"

Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.

"You didn't write Qing Ci before. I didn't expect you to write Qing Ci today."

Gao Gong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "You should have seen those Qing Ci poems before, they are all archived in the Hanlin Academy."

Wei Guangde nodded when he heard this, but then he heard Gao Gong's cold words.

"The previous Qingci, whether it was Yan Ge Lao, Xu Ge Lao, or Yuan Wei, were all gods who brought His Majesty to earth for experience. But what did you write in your Qing Ci? You still have to live in this life. .”

"ah?"

Hearing what Gao Gong said, Wei Guangde felt chills all over his body. How could he have ignored such an important thing.

In Wei Guangde's consciousness, there is naturally no such thing as a god or a man. Even if he is an emperor in folk mythology or a real dragon emperor, Wei Guangde's soul has traveled through time after all, so he doesn't really have much awe in his heart.

Of course, Wei Guangde was also in awe of Emperor Jiajing, but that was awe of power, not his identity.

Do princes and generals like Xiang Ning have the guts?

Not many monarchies have survived in later generations, and most of them have limited monarch power. They serve more as a symbol of the country and a mascot.

In Wei Guangde's impression, tribes in the Middle East and Africa still have reservations, and monarchs still have real rights. Even if other countries retain monarchs, they still adopt a constitutional system.

Therefore, when Wei Guangde wrote the Qing Ci, he naturally wrote it according to this consciousness. He regarded Emperor Jiajing as an ordinary person. He was lucky enough to be born in the emperor's family and could have resources to practice Taoism. become.

The writing background of that Qing Ci was actually very simple, but now after listening to Gao Gong's words, Wei Guangde felt that the trouble that Qing Ci might cause him seemed to be more serious than a bad attitude.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde looked at Gao Gong anxiously.

If that Qing Ci was used by someone with ulterior motives to gossip about Emperor Jiajing, it would be in trouble.

Although he knew that the Qing Ci would not reach Emperor Jiajing, it would be troublesome for others to see it and speak it out.

If you do more, you will be wrong; if you do not, it will be good.

Wei Guangde felt a little guilty at this time, so he might as well just pretend to be stupid and get through.

Seeing Wei Guangde's look, Gao Gong softened his tone and said, "I stopped your Qing Ci, but many people have seen it. Yan Shifan also saw it and picked up your Qing Ci." Come out and plan to donate."

Having said this, Gao Gong glanced at Wei Guangde with dissatisfaction.

Wei Guangde knew that he had not thought carefully this time and could not say anything, but his heart was already in turmoil.

Qingci will not be sent directly to the emperor, and it seems to be nothing, but Yan Shifan sees it, and it may be dug out one day. It seems to have become a time bomb, and it may explode at any time.

Wei Guangde frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly said: "Since Yan Shifan knows about it, Brother Su Qing shouldn't stop him."

In Wei Guangde's view, if there is a mistake, it is better to expose it directly and deal with it head-on. At least there will be someone who can help him correct the problem in front of the emperor. If Yan Song and Yan Shifan report it to the emperor in private

"What do you mean? Did I do something wrong?"

Gao Gong was already unhappy, but when he heard what Wei Guangde said, he felt even worse.

However, Wei Guangde raised his hand to him and then said: "Shandai would like to thank Brother Suqing for protecting me, but Shandai still feels that since Qingci has been seen by Yan Shifan, it is better to send it directly to His Majesty. , His Majesty will continue to scold and punish you. It would be better to tell him clearly in person than to be assassinated by them.

Anyway, aren't there Brother Suqing and Elder Xu Ge in Xiyuan? "

"Are you worried that Yan Shifan will report it to His Majesty in private?"

After being reminded by Wei Guangde, Gao Gong also woke up.

Although Qingci was stopped, if the emperor was offended and wanted to punish him, as long as someone stabbed him in front of him, Wei Guangde would still not be able to escape punishment. After all, those Qingci would be properly kept, regardless of the quality of the Qingci.

Gao Gong couldn't sit still at this time and started rubbing his hands continuously.

Wei Guangde was considered a general in Prince Yu's palace. Although his official position was not high, he had good information in the palace and could sometimes offer valuable opinions.

It can be said that both King Yu and Gao Gong attached great importance to Wei Guangde.

Of course, the most important thing is that they have complete confidence in Wei Guangde. Think about what the situation was like in Prince Yu's Mansion when Wei Guangde joined the army.

At that time, Prince Yu was almost in complete despair. The finances of Prince Yu's palace were on the verge of collapse, the building was about to collapse, and the hearts of the people in the palace were floating.

For Wei Guangde, Prince Yu's Palace must do its best to protect him, even if it angers Emperor Jiajing, it must be protected, not to mention that there is only a hidden worry now, and it has not yet reached despair.

Wei Guangde blinked at this moment, just trying to control his emotions, and quickly thinking about how to solve this hidden danger.

Taking the initiative to solve the problem is definitely better than passively accepting it. At least the initiative is in your own hands, rather than in the hands of Yan Shifan, who may be seized at any time.

This was the first mistake Wei Guangde made when he traveled back in time. In the past, he was very cautious in what he said and did, for fear that the opinions and habits of later generations would conflict with current ideas and be regarded as an alien by others.

As for the shirt-like thing he wears at home, most people who see it will look askance. In fact, there are very few double-breasted clothes in this era.

Fortunately, the Ming army's military uniforms and armor were of this style, and he came from a military family, so he only attracted attention and was easily accepted by others.

People who are familiar with him even know that Wei Guangde even has a mandarin duck war jacket and a set of mountain armor in his wardrobe. This mountain armor was sent by Ma Fang from Xuanfu.

The battle armor of the Ming army in this era was all hand-made and expensive, let alone armor.

For scholars, what clothes to wear is still very sensitive. The main reason is of course because the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, established the system.

With the idea of ​​proactively solving hidden dangers, Wei Guangde gradually came up with an idea, but he didn't know if it would work.

"Brother Suqing, if you find an opportunity, when you are summoned by His Majesty alone, you will say that I am not very talented but want to work hard, and I cannot write Qingci but I have to force myself to write. As a result, the words I write are messy. It’s unbearable to read.”

At this moment, Wei Guangde didn't care whether it would tarnish his reputation as a legend, and just said what he thought of.

In the joint examination and palace examination that year, Wei Guangde was originally ranked low, but he was picked up just because of a word from Emperor Jiajing. The outside world didn't know, so how could Gao Gong not know.

He said it was self-destruction, but in fact he was just telling the truth. His Hanlin Academy was also given to him by Emperor Jiajing's special order, otherwise he would have been assigned to one of the six yamen. If he wanted to choose a commoner, he might not have done it yet. wake.

When Gao Gong heard the solution proposed by Wei Guangde, he was slightly stunned for a moment, and then understood what he meant. He took the initiative to taint himself in front of Emperor Jiajing, and then revealed the matter. Although it might still cause the emperor's dissatisfaction, if done properly, it would It is possible to control the crisis within an acceptable range.

However, Gao Gong quickly thought of another question and couldn't help but said: "But the number of times I have been summoned by His Majesty alone is very limited, and there are not many such opportunities."

Seeing Wei Guangde's somewhat puzzled look, Gao Gong continued to explain: "Although I am often called to Xiyuan, I can't see the emperor most of the time. The Xiyuan officials stay in Wuyi Hall, Your Majesty." They will only be summoned when something happens.

In fact, many times, just to help the cabinet handle some official documents and memorials from their respective yamen, His Majesty would directly approve them and rarely summon them. ’

"Is that so?"

Wei Guangde suddenly realized that he had thought that after entering Xiyuan, he would follow Emperor Jiajing and be present when the emperor was disposing of the memorial. It turned out that he was just waiting in Xiyuan.

"Strictly speaking, in fact, I was only temporarily transferred to Xiyuan for duty. The only people who actually joined His Majesty for duty in Xiyuan were Zhu Xizhong and Zhu Xixiao, the two cabinet ministers, Wu Shan, the Minister of Rites, and Fang Chengyu, his maternal relative. They are the ones who really follow us into Xiyuan."

Gao Gong further explained that although Wei Guangde was somewhat favored, he actually spent very little time with the king, and Emperor Jiajing was a famous emperor in history. He rarely summoned foreign ministers except when necessary, so Gao Gong added Wei Guangde was given a detailed explanation of the real situation of Xiyuan officials.

Emperor Jiajing began to move to Xiyuan in the 18th year of Jiajing's reign. His trusted ministers of civil and military affairs, eunuchs and Zhongshu officials from the ceremonial supervisory system followed the emperor into Xiyuan.

Civil and military officials can be divided into military ministers, ministers, cabinet ministers and ministers, especially the ministers of the Ministry of Rites, who belong to the political core of this period.

"Zhu Xizhong and Zhu Xixiao are naturally representatives of the military ministers, and the close minister is Fang Chengyu. After all, he is the brother of the late Queen Fang and one of the few people close to His Majesty. As for us, except for Wu Shangshu, we are all just at your Majesty's request. They will only be temporarily called in when they are young."

After listening to Gao Gong's explanation, Wei Guangde understood a little bit. Xiyuan was not chosen casually, but only a few powerful people in the dynasty. People like Gao Gong, Li Chunfang, etc. It seems to be just a reserve team trained by Emperor Jiajing.

"Are those two pavilion elders often summoned by His Majesty?"

Wei Guangde actually still doesn't understand the relationship between Xiyuan and the cabinet.

After all, Xiyuan already belongs to the palace, and it is still taboo to spy on the palace. Before, he only knew that the people who entered Xiyuan seemed to be very important to Emperor Jiajing, but he had not inquired about the details.

Gao Gong is here now. Although he is not included in Xiyuan, he has been called in frequently in recent years, so he naturally knows more than outsiders.

"The two cabinet elders are summoned sometimes, that is, when there are difficult matters, His Majesty will summon them."

Speaking of this, Gao Gong thought about it and said: "I heard someone say two days ago that His Majesty intends to let the two cabinet elders go to Wuyi Hall to work every day, and the cabinet will be temporarily left alone."

"Your Majesty wants to abolish the cabinet?"

Wei Guangde said in surprise.

"Of course not. The cabinet ministers have been assigned to Xiyuan, but their offices are still in the cabinet. Now they just ask the General Affairs Department and the various government offices to hand over all the documents originally sent to the cabinet to Wuyi Palace for processing, so as to prevent the cabinet elders from running away.

In fact, many times in the past, when His Majesty wanted to summon someone, the eunuch would go to the cabinet to find someone.

His Majesty used to have an hour each morning and afternoon to deal with government affairs. The two cabinet bosses would mostly go to Wuyi Palace at that time. However, if His Majesty was delayed or there were major events, they would be called in from the cabinet.

Being admitted to the pavilion does not mean that he will be admitted to Xiyuan. Mr. Lu Ge has not been admitted to Xiyuan. Of course, this has something to do with his poor health. "

Gao Gong continued to reveal the details he knew to Wei Guangde.

There were some things that had been speculated about in the court before, but it was hard to tell whether they were true or not. Most of the officials in Xiyuan kept silent about it. Now that Gao Gong had opened his mouth, Wei Guangde certainly seemed to know more.

"From the outside, we are often called to Xiyuan, so they think we are also in Xiyuan. This is actually wrong.

Are you curious, what is the difference between joining the direct committee and joining the cabinet? "

Gao Gong suddenly asked.

Wei Guangde nodded, he was indeed curious.

"If there's anything going on, stay in the office. If there's nothing going on, stay in the cabinet."

Gao Gong said: "This is what Mr. Xu Ge told me. If there is an important matter, they will stay in Wuyi Hall and wait for summons at any time. If nothing happens, they should go back to the cabinet to handle official business."

"That is to say, Mr. Xu Ge has more opportunities to meet His Majesty alone?"

Wei Guangde said.

"We can only discuss this matter with Mr. Xu Ge and see how to deal with it. By the way, your people in the palace can also inform you. It would also be good to help with a few words."

Gao Gong glanced at Wei Guangde and said again.

The solution proposed by Wei Guangde, in Gao Gong's opinion, is also the best solution to this hidden danger, but it must be fully prepared.