The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde was busy with schooling and had gradually left the court. He didn't have much time to inquire about the affairs in the court every day.

However, as Zhang Ji, who has been with him until now, he still knows very well what his master is more concerned about.

What could be more likely to attract Wei Guangde's attention than Shibo, so today Zhang Ji immediately found Wei Guangde with a copy of Liu Ji's memorial after getting the news.

Sitting on the carriage, Wei Guangde quickly read Liu Ji's memorial.

"Once this provocation is started, the island will roar and gather, and the harm will be indescribable."

He softly read out the dangers listed by Liu Ji and curled his lips.

Now that the Japanese pirates in the southeast are being suppressed by generals such as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, the Japanese situation seems to have eased. Slightly larger groups of Japanese pirates have been wiped out in Fujian and Guangdong.

In fact, the current situation is very good, but if you are unprepared, smart people will be prepared for danger.

The sea is banned and large groups of Japanese pirates are banned. These officials still can't see the strangeness.

"I know, don't worry about this."

Wei Guangde does not intend to intervene in this matter during the Jiajing Dynasty, troublesome.

Because he had to take action, he had to go through Xu Jie in the end, allowing him to intervene appropriately after the Ministry of Household Affairs put forward his opinions.

Regarding Liu Ji's memorial, Wei Guangde knew it without asking, and the Ministry of Revenue would definitely support it.

If not for anything else, it was because Liu Ji was worried about the Japanese pirates gathering again.

As long as there is such a possibility, the Ministry of Revenue will never object to this matter in order to hand over some money to the Shipping Department.

Now that Xu Jie and Yan Ne are fighting among themselves, it would be better for me to calm down and stay in the school recording hall.

Within two days, the news was indeed received. The Ministry of Revenue was deeply convinced of Liu Ji's memorial, and immediately sent the memorial and the report to the cabinet together.

The concerns of the Ministry of Revenue are naturally the concerns of the cabinet, and Xu Jie does not have Yan Song's courage.

As long as Yan Song felt that there was great benefit in it, he would dare to push forward the matter without any regard for the objections of the courtiers. This was also one of the important reasons why Yan Song lost the support of all officials.

Although everyone said that Yan Song was dictatorial, in fact the fundamental reason was that in order to ensure the consumption of Emperor Jiajing, Yan Song spared no effort to make money for the court, many of which touched the interests of officials.

As for corruption, it actually doesn’t matter to anyone.

However, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered the fight between Xu Jie and Yan Ne. He looked at Zhang Ji who had his head bowed and asked: 'What changes have been made among the officials in the DPRK and China in the past few days? ’

"Is the master asking about the capital city or other places?"

Zhang Ji asked carefully.

You know, the officials of the Ming Dynasty actually changed every day. Of course, this refers to those who are not on the stage.

Every day, countless people run into the civil service to seek errands, but only a handful of them are lucky enough to get official positions.

Wei Guangde's question made Zhang Ji confused about what it meant.

"I think you should have paid attention to the changes in Jiangxi, South Zhili and Zhejiang, including the capital, and above the fifth rank."

Wei Guangde said casually.

Zhang Ji lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head again and said, "Master, there were many decrees from Nanjing and Nanzhili in the past few days, but not a single decree has appeared in the past few days."

"No?"

Wei Guangde was surprised that Xu Jie was suppressing Yan Ne, so there must be a few people in Yan Ge's pocket.

Even though Yan Ne has been in the cabinet for less than a year, he has served as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for a long time. It cannot be just a few people.

While Wei Guangde was still in a daze, Zhang Ji's voice sounded again.

"There are no official transfers in the south, but there are changes in the Rites and Staff Departments in the capital."

"Oh, whose order is it?"

Hearing Zhang Ji say that there were changes in the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel in the capital, Wei Guangde suddenly thought of Chen Yiqin.

When Li Fang mentioned Chen Yiqin before, the main reason was that he didn't want Gao Gong to dominate alone.

He cannot be promoted, but if other people from Prince Yu's Mansion can be promoted, they can follow Gao Gong and contribute to Prince Yu's Mansion, and prevent Gao Gong from being the only one who is beautiful. This is Wei Guangde's purpose.

When he said it, he knew that Li Fang understood it.

Sure enough, Zhang Ji's words were exactly what Wei Guangde thought, although there was a slight difference.

"Two days ago, His Majesty had decreed that Chen Yiqin, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, should be the left minister of the headquarters, and Gao Yi, the former left minister of the Ministry of Rites, should be the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

Shaking his head slightly, Emperor Jiajing was still worried about Prince Yu's palace and was unwilling to transfer Chen Yiqin to the staff department.

As we all know, the Ministry of Rites is a Qingshui yamen. Although it manages many affairs, its actual power is small and far inferior to that of the Ministry of Personnel.

If you serve as a minister in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, you can recruit several local magistrates as your subordinates.

Although the magistrate is not a big official, he seems to have little influence on Prince Yu's palace. But if the magistrate does well, what kind of officials should be arranged if he is promoted to the capital?

This is the fundamental reason why Wei Guangde wanted to send Chen Yiqin to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Gao Gong had already taken control of the Ministry of Rites, and Wei Guangde thought that Emperor Jiajing would agree to let Chen Yiqin go to the Ministry of Personnel as a minister.

Although I don't know how to get to Prince Yu's Mansion, as long as the goal is achieved, it will be fine.

At this time, a servant outside the study suddenly shouted: "Master, there is a servant of the palace outside who wants to see the housekeeper."

The palace servant wanted to see Zhang Ji. Wei Guangde was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Zhang Ji.

At this time, Zhang Ji was also shocked by these words.

"Sir, I don't know. I'm not familiar with the people in the palace."

He is the steward of the Wei Mansion, and he cannot let the master know that he has private contacts with people from Prince Yu's Mansion.

In fact, he really had no personal contact with people in other mansions, except for contact under Wei Guangde's order.

Although he came from a small place, after staying in the capital for so many years, he had still heard about the taboos of being a housekeeper and avoiding the need.

Although he felt strange, Wei Guangde nodded to Zhang Ji, "Go out and have a look."

"Yes, sir."

At this time, Zhang Ji knew that nothing he said was right. Only by seeing what the people in Prince Yu's Palace wanted to do with him, and then quickly coming back to tell Wei Guangde the whole story, could the matter be settled.

Zhang Ji hurried out and went to the front. Fortunately, he was in the mansion, and there were people from the mansion on both sides, so he was not worried about arousing Wei Guangde's suspicion.

Wei Guangde was also surprised. He didn't know why Li Fang asked such a 250 person to deliver the letter.

If Zhang Ji hadn't been brought out from Bengshan Castle by him, just what he said just now would have completely finished Zhang Ji's game.

At the beginning, Father Wei sent him a lot of people, all of whom were from the original fort. He knew the basics, and Wei Guangde really didn't worry at all that they would have any different intentions.

Their families were still in Jiujiang. If he sent back a letter, their lives would be at risk.

Up to now, in the entire Wei Mansion, except for those from Jiujiang, there are only people brought here from Wei Guogong by his wife Xu Jianglan, and there are no other people hired in the capital.

In fact, I am worried that the origin is unknown and unsafe.

That's it. The first clerk he met in the yamen was sent by Jin Yiwei.

Wei Guangde estimated that for those who enter the Hanlin Academy, the scribes they may come into contact with are most likely trained by Jin Yiwei, unless they change their own people.

These petty officials and the common people met at a young age, and it was easy to win their trust and make the fledgling officials trust them.

As for the concubines of the Hanlin Academy, some of them will be able to join the cabinet and worship the prime minister in the future. It is always good to place spies around them early.

The Jin Yiwei was not worried about the rebels in the future when they were in power, but was collecting their power layout and relationship network. This was the information the emperor needed to know when the party struggle was fierce.

Not long after, Zhang Ji hurried back and wiped away the non-existent sweat when he entered.

"Sir, it was actually Eunuch Li from the palace who sent someone to deliver a note to you. The servant foolishly thought you were not in the palace, so he said he wanted to find me."

Zhang Ji stepped forward and bowed, holding an envelope in both hands and handed it to Wei Guangde.

"Oh, I see."

Although it was a misunderstanding, Wei Guangde would not comfort him easily, so it would be good to put some pressure on Zhang Ji.

He reached out to take the envelope, pulled out the letter paper inside, frowned after looking at it, and then shook his head slightly, sighing in his heart that ginger is still too old, Xu Jie threatened Yan Ne and then negotiated terms with Yan Ne, and forced Yan Ne to retreat.

There was actually no letter in the envelope, just a note, but the content on the note shocked Wei Guangde.

Tomorrow, Yan Na, the cabinet scholar, will resign to Emperor Jiajing on the grounds of health. He wants to return to his hometown to recuperate and support his parents.

What the hell is this?

A cabinet bachelor who had just turned fifty resigned on the grounds of recuperation. How did this make Xu Jie, who was over sixty, feel?

Yan Ne gave up, probably agreeing to Xu Jie's decision to leave the court, but the reason for his choice really hurt Xu Jie's face.

Yan Na retreated, but he didn't make Xu Jie feel better.

This made Wei Guangde feel agitated again.

He knew that Xu Jie would not be far away from leaving the court, which meant that Zhang Juzheng would soon join the cabinet.

Even though Zhang Juzheng is also studying in the school registration hall like him, with Xu Jie's support, it is easy to transfer him out.

Relatively speaking, Wei Guangde's disadvantage in this aspect is obvious.

The next day, Wei Guangde hadn't even finished reading the first book in the school library, so Lu Bu hurriedly entered the room to report to him that Yan Na, the Crown Prince's Taibao, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and Scholar of Wuyingdian Palace, resigned due to illness and wanted to return. News about recuperation in the countryside.

Wei Guangde had known it for a long time, but he still looked surprised in front of Lu Bu.

"Do you know what illness Mr. Yan Ge is suffering from? Forget it, go outside and ask my coachman to come in. I have something to say to him."

Wei Guangde's words were naturally meant to send a message to the government.

As for what to bring, is there any need to say it?

Yan Ne asked for sick leave, so Wei Guangde naturally had to come over to visit him. No matter what, this was the rule of the officialdom.

Wei Guangde actually has a good relationship with the three ministers in the current cabinet. Relatively speaking, he spends a little more time dealing with Xu Jie now, but he also had a good relationship with Li Chunfang when he was in the Hanlin Academy.

Yan Ne, he has a little less contact, but it does not prevent him from visiting the sick people.

Moreover, a resignation like this usually had to be repeated three times before Emperor Jiajing would approve it, showing his kindness to his ministers.

"Yes, sir."

Lu Bu agreed and went out to the front yard to ask people from the Wei Mansion to come in.

In the afternoon of that day, Yan Ne's resignation letter was sent to Yongshou Palace. Emperor Jiajing was silent for a long time in front of this memorial.

Xu Jie has been in the cabinet for a long time, but this person is indeed similar to Yan Song in that he is quite obedient. Although he sometimes opposes his orders, this is rare.

In the eyes of the emperor, he was a useful talent.

However, being available does not mean that you are at ease, nor does it mean that you trust him.

The rapid promotion of Yuan Wei, Yan Na, Li Chunfang and others was all because of their dedicated service for many years. Emperor Jiajing was more assured of these people with weak foundations in the court.

Letting them join the cabinet can contain Xu Jie.

Rights can confuse people's eyes, and no matter how loyal a person is, they will change after losing their restraints.

It was a pity that Yuan Wei, whom he valued, was so unlucky that he died immediately after being ill for three months without telling him.

Therefore, he could only quickly introduce Yan Ne and Li Chunfang into the cabinet to participate in military operations, in order to naturally limit Xu Jie's power.

Although Yan Ne was very talkative in front of him, which made him like him very much, on the other hand, Yan Ne was still more principled, so Emperor Jiajing was reassured.

But he didn't expect that in less than a year, he would be defeated by Xu Jie.

Disappointed, Emperor Jiajing was really disappointed at this time.

He was happy to see the fight between Xu Jie and Yan Ne, but in terms of the result, he could also guess that while Yan Ne had Xu Jie's black information, Xu Jie might also have more important news in his hands. , once it is made public, it will be enough for Yan Ne to lose his reputation, lose everything, and even risk his life.

Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why Yan Ne would compromise at this time.

What is it?

In fact, Emperor Jiajing didn't care. He was a superior emperor and would not care about such trivial matters among his ministers.

In his opinion, having a lot of dirty information and being unclean is not a bad thing. These clues can be brought out openly when needed, and a faction can be easily destroyed, just like the Yan Song family.

In the imperial society, if he stands on the side of justice, he can be invincible.

What he needs is someone who can do things for him and share his worries.

Li Chunfang is someone he likes. He has great literary talent, but his personality is a bit bad. He speaks and acts in a submissive manner. He lacks the domineering power that a prime minister should have, so his ability to do things is worrying.

And now that Yan Ne has left the court, who should he put into the cabinet?

The Minister of Rites is Gao Gong?

Or Guo Pu, the Minister of Rites?

Emperor Jiajing had some concerns. In fact, both of them were good means to contain Xu Jie, but being optimistic about them didn't mean they were really good.

Later generations may not pay attention to it, but in the Ming Dynasty, there was a lot of information that everyone had to remember, and that was their place of origin.

Gao Gong is from Xinzheng, Henan, and Guo Pu is from Anyang, Henan, and they are fellow townsmen.

As for why Emperor Jiajing was not worried about Xu Jie, Yan Na and Li Chunfang from South Zhili being in the cabinet at the same time, but worried about two people from Henan, he naturally had his own considerations.

In fact, the vast area of ​​Southern Zhili and Northern Zhili makes it difficult to form a so-called township party because there are too many people in the pilot examination.

Jiangxi and Zhejiang are different. These are the two places that he needs to pay close attention to.

Sometimes, the presence of township parties in the running of the court is also beneficial to the running of the government.

Just like during the Yan Song period, the government did not have any problems just because Jiangxi people accounted for half of the ministers. It ran very smoothly, thanks to the fact that the government and the township party would not undermine each other but would help each other.

Will the introduction of Gao Gong and Guo Pu lead to another fight with Xu Jie?

In the past, he was happy to do this, but now, what he needs is the stability of the government.

He could feel his life force draining away, and there was not much time left for him.