The Prosperous Era of Longwan

As Chen Ju opened and closed his mouth, he said something unexpected to Wei Guangde.

"Hu Zongxian may rise again."

Wei Guangde stared blankly at Chen Ju for a moment, not understanding what was going on behind the scenes.

"Hu Zongxian, wasn't he dismissed by His Majesty and living idle? He is far away from the capital, how can he recover?"

Wei Guangde couldn't understand and asked hesitantly.

"At the beginning of the year, I don't know what method Hu Zongxian used to get through the relationship between Zhang Hong and Eunuch Zhang, and sent fourteen volumes of secret techniques to His Majesty."

Chen Ju said softly.

These actually revealed the emperor's preferences, and Hu Zongxian's treasure presentation was considered a secret in the palace, so Chen Ju acted very cautiously.

However, he also knew that when he liquidated Yan Song's gang members, Emperor Jiajing may have been thinking that Hu Zongxian had been diligent in royal affairs in Zhejiang for many years, encircling and suppressing Japanese pirates. Although he was not able to wipe out all the Japanese pirates, the biggest Japanese pirate forces at the time were still there. , were all destroyed in his hands.

Therefore, during the Nanjing incident, Lu Fengyi impeached Yan Song, a member of his party, for the ten major crimes of rape, rape, corruption, and was ordered to be arrested and interrogated. When Zong Xian arrived in Beijing, Emperor Jiajing changed his mind again and said: "Zong Xian is not a member of the Song party. I have decided to use Ba Yong. In the ninth year, a person has been speechless. He has brought auspiciousness to himself, and has been afflicted by evil spirits. In the first instance, he was awarded the fifth-level title. If I am convicted now, who will be responsible for me in the future? He will be ordered to live in peace."

Because of Emperor Jiajing's words, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Punishment both took exception to Hu Zongxian's case. Instead of convicting him, they directly released him and allowed him to return to his hometown to live.

"Hu Zongxian, Hu Zongxian, he actually has the courage to become an official. Haha, it's great to be an official."

After Wei Guangde learned the secret of Hu Zongxian's comeback, he sneered.

It is true that Hu Zongxian was only in his fifties at this time, and he was a second-rank official in the dynasty. It was not surprising that he wanted to make a comeback. He could work for several years no matter what.

However, Hu Zongxian obviously did not see the current situation clearly. Perhaps he thought that Emperor Jiajing was lenient to him because he still had the favor, so he returned to his hometown for two years to avoid it, and his thoughts began to show up.

Can you make him come back?

Of course not.

Wei Guangde was already annoyed by the officials waiting in line for promotion. If he asked Hu Zongxian to get up again, it would be jumping the queue.

There are only so many official positions in the imperial court, and now Wei Guangde doesn't want to give in. As long as there are official positions available, he wants to take them. Zhang Juzheng is really forcing him into a hurry.

No matter what, he couldn't be thrown too far by Zhang Juzheng.

If he can't compare with Gao Gong, he can only make Zhang Juzheng his target.

"Wanhua is determined."

Wei Guangde said to Chen Jugong, cupping his hands.

He understood that he was sending this news today, and it was very timely.

Chen Ju and others in the palace knew about Prince Yu's palace's attitude toward Yan Song's accomplices, even though they had not personally experienced it.

Hu Zongxian was the person with the highest official position in Yan Song's party, and he was naturally the target of the court officials' purge.

If Emperor Jiajing had not changed his attitude, Hu Zongxian would not have known that he would be sent to that barbaric place to guard the border.

You should know that although most of the members of the strict party were not sentenced to death, many were dismissed from office and sent to prison.

To put it bluntly, it would be worse than killing them.

Moreover, with the label of being a strict party, they have no chance of turning over, unless Yan Shifan really turns over this time.

It's a pity that Yan Shifan was so smart that he didn't expect anyone to guess it in advance. He didn't care about the facts and arranged for all the suspicious people to go out of the capital for business, leaving him unable to stand up without the help of hidden party members in the capital.

After all, even if you have the power to reach heaven and earth, if you are restricted in prison and cannot display your abilities, you will have to wait for death.

"Has His Majesty considered adding people to the cabinet?"

At present, if Hu Zongxian comes back to power, he will either continue to go to the local area to be the governor, or he will stay in the capital. As long as his rank is low, it will not be enough if his official position is low.

Thinking about Yan Na's official career, he judged that Emperor Jiajing would continue to add people to the cabinet to disperse Xu Jie's power and avoid a situation where one person was dominant.

Among the six books of ministers, it is possible that two positions will be vacant at once.

Hu Zongxian definitely couldn't get involved in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of War was suitable for him, but with Yang Bo already there, and the remaining three ministries, it was hard to figure out how Emperor Jiajing would adjust them.

"The cabinet will definitely need to be replaced, but I don't know how to arrange it."

Chen Ju said casually. Although his tone was casual, Wei Guangde also knew it was true.

Perhaps the words and deeds in daily life would reveal some of the emperor's thoughts, but the only one who could really guess it was Huang Jin, the old eunuch who always accompanied him.

"Okay, it's getting late and I have to go back to the palace."

After sitting for a while, Chen Ju stood up and said goodbye, "I haven't been to Shandai for a long time. I thought of it today and came over to sit here."

Wei Guangde sent the person out of the house and then returned to the backyard to rest.

To deal with Hu Zongxian, Wei Guangde didn't need to use his brain. As long as he revealed the news to Xu Jie, Xu Jie could do things beautifully out of his deep hatred for the Yan family.

Wei Guangde didn't take this matter to heart and strolled back to the backyard to look after his children.

Early the next morning, Wei Guangde got on the carriage after going out and told the coachman Zhang San: "Go to Prince Yu's Mansion."

Wei Guangde did not intend to foolishly find Zhang Juzheng or Xu Jie to spread the news from the palace. If something went wrong, he might not be able to escape the charge of spying on the secrets of the palace.

Prince Yu's Mansion is just right. The people in Prince Yu's Mansion are actually under the management of the inner court, but they are just assigned to the Prince's Mansion to serve the prince.

When the carriage arrived at the gate of Prince Yu's Mansion, Wei Guangde got off the carriage, and the guards of the Prince's Mansion naturally did not stop him.

In the past years, Wei Guangde's carriage came here every day. In the past two years, Wei Guangde's carriage came here less often, but it's not like the guards didn't know each other.

The prince's valued official has an unlimited future.

After Wei Guangde entered the palace, he quickly called a chamberlain and asked him to find Li Fang and Eunuch Li.

After all, he is the intelligence chief of the palace, and it is most appropriate to leave this kind of work to him.

Not long after, Wei Guangde saw Li Fang.

"Master Wei, you arrived at the palace so early, but what happened?"

Now Wei Guangde doesn't go to the Three Treasures Hall for anything. If he wants to see King Yu, he will definitely wait until the afternoon.

He arrived at the palace in the morning and asked people to look for him. Something must have happened again.

"Haha, Eunuch Li, you still understand me."

Wei Guangde answered cheerfully.

After the two of them sat down and a waiter brought tea and cakes, Wei Guangde asked: "Eunuch Li, do you know the relationship between Zhang Hong and Hu Zongxian?"

"Zhang Hong? Hu Zongxian? What is the relationship between the two of them?"

There were only two people in the room, and there was no need for Li Fang to pretend to respect the eunuchs in the palace, but she still asked with suspicion on her face.

Zhang Hong was also the number one figure in the palace, one of the eunuchs Bingbi, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, so it was inevitable that Li Fang would not take notice of him.

"I heard that at the beginning of the year, probably after Gao Zhong fell ill, the Director of Ceremonies had the errand of delivering memorials to Yongshou Palace every day. Wasn't it just a matter of several writers taking turns to do it?

At that time, Zhang Hong presented fourteen volumes of secret techniques to His Majesty, and it is said that His Majesty was very pleased. "

Wei Guangde said softly.

"Is this happening?"

Li Fang lowered her head and recalled for a moment. She seemed to remember the note with this record, but she couldn't remember it clearly.

Wei Guangde continued: "The fourteen volumes of secret techniques were not found by Eunuch Zhang, but by someone else."

"Hu Zongxian?"

Li Fang now understood how Zhang Hong and Hu Zongxian were involved.

Hu Zongxian knew that the emperor liked Taoist things, especially books on cultivation, so he searched everywhere and collected fourteen volumes of secret techniques.

As for which eunuch in the palace to contact, it's simple, just contact whoever is suitable.

Zhang Hong was the target chosen by Hu Zongxian.

Naturally, Zhang Hong would not refuse such a great thing as presenting a treasure to the emperor.

He also knew what Hu Zongxian was thinking, but just as Hu Zongxian thought, Zhang Hong certainly knew how he got out of prison two years ago, and he was not sure what Emperor Jiajing's attitude was towards Hu Zongxian.

If Emperor Jiajing is really serious, it would not be a loss if he can still be appreciated by the emperor for his hard work.

As for whether this will cause dissatisfaction among the ministers of the DPRK and China, no one in the inner court cares about this.

Regarding King Yu, Zhang Hong also considered it, but it seemed more important to gain the favor of Emperor Jiajing.

Anyway, he is serving his master. After all, his master is Emperor Jiajing now, not Prince Yu yet.

"If His Highness finds out, he will definitely be angry again."

Li Fang sighed softly and said, "His Royal Highness has always opposed His Majesty's practice of these Taoist secrets, especially elixirs. Hu Zongxian would actually offer this to His Majesty. It's really damning."

"His Majesty must have mentioned Hu Zongxian again in Yongshou Palace recently. It seems that he is determined to get back at him."

Immediately afterwards, Wei Guangde threw another bomb at Li Fang.

"Qi Fu, Qi Fu, let's go back to the capital and see how Mr. Xu Ge and the others defeat him."

The people of the Yan Party were not only the enemies of Prince Yu's Palace, but also the enemies of Xu Ge's family. The two groups came together in the first place because the Yan Song Party was too powerful to resist.

Li Fang had actually thought of this a long time ago.

In fact, King Yu not only met Wei Guangde many times in private, but also met Gao Gong many times, but without exception, Li Fang was present both inside and outside the house.

Gao Gong has complained many times in front of King Yu that Mr. Xu Ge was corrupt, perverting the law, and forming cliques for personal gain. He was completely the second Yan Song.

Having said that, Gao Gong still did not forget to remind King Yu not to antagonize Xu Jie. Both sides intend to maintain goodwill towards each other, so let's continue like this.

Perhaps, in the eyes of outsiders, Xu Dang was from Prince Yu's Palace, but only a few people in the Palace knew that this was not the case at all.

However, what he saw was Wei Guangde shaking his head.

"Why does Shandai think it's so inappropriate?"

Li Fang asked hesitantly.

"Eunuch Li, what official position did Hu Zongxian hold when he was dismissed? If he is really allowed to return to the court, what official position will your Majesty arrange for him?"

Wei Guangde whispered.

"Governor, Minister of War, hiss."

If the second-rank official of the imperial court really returns to the imperial court and reaches this position, Xu Jie may not be able to move.

It can only be said that Li Fang thought Hu Zongxian was too simple at first, forgetting that he was once the most glorious frontier official in the Ming Dynasty.

"We must prevent him from becoming an official."

The next moment, Li Fang said categorically, "Whatever you want me to do, Shandai just says."

Li Fang didn't bother to ask Wei Guangde about his source. Anyway, Hu Zongxian's name was also in King Yu's notebook, or King Yu had a list of officials from the Yan Party who had slipped through the crackdown.

These people, in the Jiajing Dynasty, may not be held accountable for their past merits, but King Yu will not.

If it weren't for the fact that these people were acting as an accomplice, how could the Yan family be so unscrupulous and even dare to bully the prince?

"Eunuch Li should be in contact with Mr. Xu Ge. All we need to do is reveal the news to him and let him find a way to prevent Hu Zongxian from returning to the court."

Wei Guangde said.

"This is a decision made by the palace. How can the outer court stop it? Besides, His Majesty has not mentioned this matter yet. I can't say Mr. Xu Ge said that Hu Zongxian is not a good person."

Li Fang hesitated.

"But if His Majesty is really determined, it will be too late to stop it."

Wei Guangde said leisurely.

"How are you going to handle this?"

Li Fang was already a little anxious and at a loss. In his opinion, everything happened at the emperor's whim, and it was really difficult for others to talk about it.

Covering it, finding no reason to stop it, uncovering it, is not to speculate on the emperor's heart.

"Haha, Eunuch Li, what are you so anxious about?"

Wei Guangde smiled and said casually.

"Shandai, have you already thought of a way? Please tell me."

At this moment, looking at Wei Guangde who was still calm and composed, Li Fang seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw.

King Yu will definitely be notified of this news later, but having a way and having no way are two different things.

If you can find problems but cannot solve them, Prince Yu will look down upon you, but if you can find problems and solve them, His Highness will undoubtedly look down on you.

"Jiangnan is searching the Yan family and several party members. Most of the people in charge are Mr. Xu Ge's disciples. When passing the news to Mr. Xu Ge, I mentioned in passing that they should focus on searching for the correspondence between these people and Hu Zongxian. As long as they are willing, There’s always something to discover.”

Wei Guangde knew that this time Xu Jie and others raided the Yan family and others, such as Luo Longwen, Yan Maoqing and others, and of course they were rushing to eliminate the roots and would not give the remnants of the Yan Party the slightest chance.

Knowing that Hu Zongxian, an important member of the Yan Party, might resurrect, Xu Jie is probably more anxious than anyone else and will definitely do everything possible to stop it.

A word of caution for Li Fang, in case Xu Jie didn't think of this matter, this would be the best excuse to investigate and deal with Hu Zongxian.

As long as he looked for omissions in the original correspondence between him and Yan Dang, magnified the errors, and reported them directly to Emperor Jiajing, he would be dealt with without anyone noticing.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to find an excuse to deal with a dishonest official.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes."

Li Fang said three good words in a row.

It is not surprising that the evidence of Hu Zongxian's crime was found in the house of the raiding official and then sent to the capital.

From the beginning, Li Fang was worried that she could not find a reason to deal with Hu Zongxian.

Everyone has returned to their hometown, and they are no longer in officialdom, so how can they commit any crime?

Since he has already been dealt with, we can't use Yan Shifan's rebellion case to drag him in again. The original evidence did not involve Hu Zongxian. If he were to forcefully drag him in at this time, it would be a bit cover-up, and it would be difficult not to follow the truth.

It seems much easier to drag Hu Zongxian in by searching the prisoner's family letters.

Li Fang would not consider whether Hu Zongxian made any mistakes or omissions and left them in the letter. Didn't Wei Guangde say, "As long as you have the intention."

He knew what it meant.