The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Did Mr. Xu Ge not say who your Majesty would like to join the cabinet?"

Wei Guangde asked King Yu who was sitting on it. At this time, King Yu was also staring at Zhang Juzheng, hoping to get accurate information from him.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said, "Teacher doesn't know either. His Majesty has not made it clear. However, Mr. Yuan Ge will leave Beijing tomorrow, and His Highness should go and see him off."

When Wei Guangde heard this, he couldn't help but think of something, and he hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should say it or not.

Wei Guangde's tangled performance attracted Yin Shizhen's attention, and he immediately asked: "Shandai, do you have anything to say?"

After Yin Shizhen spoke, King Yu and Zhang Juzheng also looked over.

"Your Highness, I heard something two days ago, and I didn't know whether I should say it or not."

Wei Guangde said tangledly.

"But it doesn't matter."

King Yu was very forthright and spoke right away.

"Two days ago, Mr. Yuan Ge's nephew Yuan Dalun came to my house and asked to buy a 200-year-old wild ginseng."

Wei Guangde said.

"What does this mean?"

King Yu asked with a confused look on his face. Like him, there were Yin Shizhen and Li Fang, and only Zhang Juzheng understood them.

"What Shandai means is that Yuan Ge is afraid that he doesn't have many days left."

After a while, Zhang Juzheng finally spoke.

"ah?"

King Yu was surprised.

"Yuan Dalun's purchase of wild ginseng that has lasted for two hundred years should be for Mr. Yuan Ge's death. Mr. Yuan Ge asked Your Majesty to allow Yuan Dalun to take leave and take the medicine with him. I am afraid that he is worried about an accident on the road and has no relatives around him."

Zhang Juzheng continued to explain, then shook his head.

In fact, for all Beijing officials, what they are most worried about is such a situation.

After traveling thousands of miles to serve as an official, in the end the fallen leaves cannot return to their roots, and their souls cannot return to their hometown.

Just imagine that most officials in this era left their hometown to take the imperial examination when they were around 20 years old, and then stayed in the capital for a long time or went to other places to serve as officials.

Civil servants are all wandering officials. Unlike military generals, they cannot return to their hometowns if they have nothing to do.

This also resulted in many officials being unable to return to their hometowns for almost their entire career. Yuan Wei's experiences were actually common in this era.

The higher the position of authority, the harder it is to get a vacation.

Let's talk about Yuan Wei. In fact, he had been rejected by Emperor Jiajing three times before. But this time he was so happy. It was obvious that he knew the exact condition of Yuan Wei, and he really couldn't delay it.

"Then go see Mr. Yuan Ge off tomorrow."

King Yu nodded slowly.

Although Yuan Wei's approach to power has been criticized, and he has been very flattering since taking office, he still has principles in matters of right and wrong.

This time Yuan Wei requested to return to his hometown to recuperate, but based on Wei Guangde's words and the performance of the Yuan Mansion in recent days, it seemed that Yuan Wei's health was really failing and he would not be able to come back.

The cabinet bachelor lived with the emperor day and night, handling various affairs and liberating the emperor from the heavy government affairs. Even if there was no credit, there was still hard work.

For such a serious crime committed by Yan Song, Emperor Jiajing still did not choose to implicate Yan Song when dealing with the Yan family, but only executed Yan Shifan, and even his grandson was only exiled to the army.

Sometimes, being a bachelor is really a golden ticket to avoid death.

Wei Guangde glanced at Zhang Juzheng inadvertently, wondering if he knew the secrets between Xu Jie and Yuan Wei.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng and Yuan Wei both came from the sect of Xu Jie, but Yuan Wei relied too much on himself and became a little complacent after becoming successful. Especially when he was introduced to Xiyuan and contributed to Xianqing Ci, it was actually Xu Jie's recommendation. .

However, Yuan Wei was quick in thinking and often wrote Qingci in one go. He even had a talent that surpassed Yan Song, Xu Jie and others, which attracted the attention of Emperor Jiajing.

Later, in the Hanlin Academy, a rift arose because Yuan Wei and Xu Jie compiled "Chengtian Ambition" together.

When he and Xu Jie co-presidented "Chengtian Ambition", Yuan Wei revised all the manuscripts submitted by the bachelors and did not pass them to Xu Jie for review. The bachelors were angry, and Xu Jie just said that he should edit them.

Coming from Xu Jie's sect, he treated Xu Jie with arrogance.

When Wei Guangde was in the Hanlin Academy, he just watched these things calmly.

To be honest, Wei Guangde really admired Xu Jie's self-cultivation and health-preserving skills. He was so able to outlast his colleagues.

"Shandai, do you still have ginseng that's hundreds of years old?"

When leaving Prince Yu's Mansion, Zhang Juzheng suddenly asked in a low voice.

"You want that?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously. He saw that Zhang Juzheng looked good. Logically speaking, he didn't need ginseng to replenish qi and blood.

"I have an elderly father at home, so if you have Shandai, please give it up. My uncle will remember it deeply."

Zhang Juzheng replied.

Today's events suddenly reminded Zhang Juzheng that Wei Guangde seemed to have a lot of aged ginseng in his hands. This seemed to be no secret in the capital.

Of course, he did not need ginseng to die like Yuan Wei, but he was thinking about his aging father in his hometown. Beijing and Huguang and Jingzhou were thousands of miles away. If ginseng really had the effect of hanging his life.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly, "I'll take a look when I get back. There should be some."

Wei Guangde would never refuse such a request.

Human beings are so sophisticated, why should we extrapolate?

But in the end, Wei Guangde explained to Zhang Juzheng that taking ginseng was beneficial and could indeed prolong life, but it did not have the effect of reviving the dead as in folklore.

"Haha. I know this. If this is the case, why not ask your Majesty for some Ganoderma lucidum?"

Zhang Juzheng smiled.

"Ha ha."

Wei Guangde laughed loudly after hearing this.

Sometimes he also found it interesting that Emperor Jiajing had a monopoly on Ganoderma lucidum in the Ming Dynasty, while Wei Guangde controlled ginseng.

They put aside the matter of the cabinet successor for the time being. After all, it was difficult to guess the emperor's thoughts.

The next day, Wei Guangde followed King Yu out of the city to see Yuan Wei off. As expected, he saw Yuan Wei in the sedan with a sallow complexion and a terminal illness.

Xiyuan, Yongshou Palace.

Emperor Jiajing has been living a comfortable life recently. Although it is not that he has improved in cultivation, it is because the memorials sent by the Supervisor of Rites in the past two months have been much less for him to deal with.

However, he knew very well that it was not that there were fewer things in the country, but that there was only Xu Jie as a cabinet director. No matter how diligent he was, he could not handle all the official documents sent from all over the country.

Regardless of whether it is a big or small matter, Xu Jie must read the official document in its entirety before voting. Even if most of it is full of colorful words, if you can't memorize it, there are hidden mysteries. Only then will you know how to vote.

Although the power of the cabinet is solely controlled by Xu Jie, he obviously feels that he is not qualified for such a role. Today, he sent a petition to the palace requesting additional cabinet ministers. Emperor Jiajing knew in his heart that if he did not handle it, there would be a disaster tomorrow. The petition for becoming an official was presented.

These days, it has become a routine for such memorials to appear in turn.

"Is Maozhong leaving Beijing today?"

Emperor Jiajing asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I sent Zhang Hong to see it yesterday, and all the rewards were sent."

Huang Jin replied.

"Have you seen Maozhong?"

Emperor Jiajing continued to ask, "How is the situation? I heard that his nephew went to Wei Guangde to ask for a two-hundred-year-old wild ginseng."

"I saw it. It's in a very bad condition. Yuan Dalun went to Wei Guangde to get a wild ginseng. However, I'm afraid it was also used to extend his life."

Huang Jin replied, then paused for a moment before continuing: "Prince Yu took the palace officials out of the city today to see Mr. Yuan Ge off. Yesterday, the palace sent someone to report to the inner court."

With a slight sigh, Emperor Jiajing put down Xu Jie's memorial and continued to ask: "Is Xu Jie in the cabinet these days?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, Mr. Xu Ge has been staying in the cabinet all day long to handle official business during this period, but even so, a lot of things have been squeezed out and not dealt with in time."

Huang Jin took half a step forward and answered.

"Apart from handling government affairs, you don't do anything else?"

Emperor Jiajing asked again.

"this"

Huang Jin seemed to hesitate, as if he was thinking about it, and did not give an answer immediately.

Emperor Jiajing smiled and said casually: "Look, you are old too, and you have to think about all these things."

"Oh, right."

Hearing the emperor's teasing, Huang Jin just smiled naively and dealt with it, but the wrinkles on his face also showed that he was really old.

"Yesterday, people from the Hanlin Academy were called to the cabinet and brought the manuscript of "Chengtian Dazhi"."

Huang Jin said.

"Oh, what did you do?"

Emperor Jiajing asked seemingly casually.

"It is said that many of them were modified."

Huang Jin whispered.

"Haha, those are the ones Maozhong changed."

Although Emperor Jiajing lived in Xiyuan all year round, he had a very clear understanding of the courtiers and the affairs of various yamen.

After Yuan Wei entered the cabinet a few years ago, he took over the work of compiling "Chengtian Ambition" with Xu Jie. At that time, Yuan Wei made many changes in it, and the changes were quite significant. These were all things that Xu Jie had agreed to before.

In this regard, Xu Jie did nothing as he did against Yan Song, but Emperor Jiajing was concerned about it.

These veterans around him knew the emperor very well, but correspondingly, the emperor also knew them very well.

"The decree was passed, and Yan Na and Li Chunfang were appointed to the cabinet, Dong Fen was appointed as the Minister of Rites, and Guo Pu was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

After Emperor Jiajing finished speaking, he did not immediately ask Huang Jin to go down to deliver the decree. Instead, he lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying, "Yan Na and Li Chunfang, the chief executive officer who has recorded the grand canon, compiled the great ambitions of Chengtian, go down and deliver the decree."

At this point, Emperor Jiajing asked Huang Jin to deliver the order.

Corresponding to Emperor Jiajing's previous question, Huang Jin didn't know that it was the emperor who was knocking Xu Jie.

Apart from anything else, regarding Yan Shifan's matter, Xu Jie's actions were not small. He thought he was hidden, but in this three-acre area of ​​​​the capital, nothing could escape the surveillance of Dongchang and Jinyiwei.

Huang Jin walked out of the palace and arranged for someone to deliver the order, but he always felt that he seemed to have missed something. The emperor seemed to be more than just knocking on the Xu steps.

Accompanying Prince Yu back to the palace, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other and planned to say goodbye and return to the collation hall to continue the collation ceremony.

At this moment, a chamberlain came quickly with a piece of paper, came to Li Fang, and handed the note in his hand to Li Fang.

Li Fang took it and looked at it, then frowned. It was obviously not a good thing, otherwise she wouldn't have frowned.

"What's the matter?"

King Yu was in a bad mood at the moment, so he asked after seeing Li Fang's appearance.

"His Majesty has just issued a decree, appointing Yan Na and Li Chunfang to join the cabinet, and Guo Pu and Dong Fen to serve as ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel."

Li Fang knew that this news would definitely displease King Yu, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer.

"Guo Pu and Dong Fen serve as ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel?"

King Yu looked at Li Fang with wide eyes, and then reached out his hand.

Li Fang was eager to hand over this hot potato, so she hurriedly handed the note to King Yu.

During their conversation, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, who had clearly heard the content, also looked at each other, with a hint of bitterness in their eyes.

This is the price of joining the Yuwang Qianchuan. Before the current emperor wants to delegate power, it will be difficult for them to get a chance anyway.

However, Wei Guangde still envies Zhang Juzheng. Although he was promoted to the fifth grade of horse washing first, Zhang Juzheng has the support of his teacher. Last year, he won the post of Jiuzheng in the Imperial College, surpassing Wei Guangde by a whole grade again.

It is conceivable that from then on, the supervisors who came out of the Imperial College would respectfully call Zhang Juzheng "teacher" when they saw him.

But then, King Yu's words made Wei Guangde's heart tremble.

"Yan Na and Li Chunfang re-recorded the grand ceremony and compiled Chengtian's ambitions as president? Isn't this the current position of Xu Jie and Gao Gong? What does this mean?"

Hearing what King Yu said, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other again, but this time there was no bitterness in their eyes, but shock and worry.

This time, by overthrowing Yan Shifan to vent his anger on King Yu, he was also venting his anger on Xu Jie. Who would have thought that the man in the palace would move so quickly.

Although this purpose did not pose a substantial threat to them, the meaning of beating was very strong.

Wei Guangde could imagine that Emperor Jiajing was using this to let them know that he knew what you were doing behind your back.

Taking away a little power is a warning. If this continues, the next decree may not be so simple.

Originally, according to the previous promotion method of Emperor Jiajing to the Imperial Academy, Dong Fen's position should be Gao Gong, but this time Dong Fen was asked to surpass Gao Gong and become the six ministers first. I don't know what Gao Gong will do after knowing this.

"Your Highness, Qu Jingchun, the chief officer of the re-recording ceremony, is recuperating from illness. Mr. Gao is too busy with his ministry work to take care of the re-recording of the ceremony. As for Chengtian's ambition, Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Yuan Ge were responsible for compiling this book. , now that Yuan Ge has returned from old age and illness, Mr. Xu Ge is still unable to handle the official affairs of the cabinet.

Your Majesty should have made this arrangement for this reason. "

Yin Shizhen spoke at this time, but it was obvious that he did not have the confidence to speak. He was just making an excuse for the sake of King Anyu's heart.

Since the news of King Jing's death reached the capital, Crown Prince Yu's position has become more stable, and it is inevitable that he sometimes speaks out of turn.

This time, King Yu seemed to be unable to bear it any longer, and he opened his mouth and said: "Dong Yongjun is used to following the wind and flattering people. How can he be a minister?"

"Your Highness, be careful what you say."

When King Yu just said this, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde interrupted loudly.

King Yu was frightened by the harsh words of the two men and did not continue.

"Your Highness, no matter what happens with this matter, His Majesty has already issued an order, so don't talk about it anymore."

Zhang Juzheng opened his mouth to persuade.

King Yu had a bad impression of Dong Fen, and they knew the reason, but Wei Guangde could understand Dong Fen's approach.

Dong Fen did not become a Jinshi until he was thirty-one years old and entered his official career. This was actually a relatively late start.

Without a family background, under normal circumstances, it is difficult to develop in an official career.

However, Dong Fen was smart, good at playing in the officialdom, and had both sides, especially the father and son of the Yan family who took the initiative to please the Yan family. He benefited a lot and was promoted repeatedly. It is not surprising that he fawned over King Jing.