The Prosperous Era of Longwan

As the New Year approaches, the imperial court has become increasingly strict on expenditure management, and basically no new projects will be approved.

Like Tan Lun's proposal, if it is just to upgrade the Shanhaiguan garrison officer position, it will not be a big problem, but it involves recruiting soldiers and increasing expenses. At least next year, the cabinet may agree.

However, the construction of additional piers and abutments is currently determined to be rejected. Maybe next year, the opportunity will be greater, and Ji Zhen will have to spend a large portion of the money.

Wei Guangde thought of this before he said: "The Shanhaiguan matter can be reported to the cabinet, and I can talk to the cabinet. It is better to wait for the pier matter.

By the way, I heard before that Governor Zhao Bingran of Jiliao was sick. Have you gone to see him this time? Is it really heavy? "

Wei Guangde said what he was thinking, and suddenly thought of Tan Lun's next position, so he asked.

"Anyone who has served as a governor in the North will be infected with some diseases to some extent.

Mr. Zhao has a long-standing problem with coughing, but it has gotten worse since autumn this year. He coughs all night long.

I asked the doctor that Mr. Zhao’s illness is difficult to treat, and that’s basically it.

He had submitted petitions twice before but was rejected. This third memorial should probably be sent to the capital. "

Tan Lun replied.

"Brother Zili, take a few days' rest and discuss the parade with Yuan Jing as soon as possible. The Zhejiang troops will set off after the new year and should be able to reach the capital before three months.

And you, looking at this, you may go to Governor Ji Liao at any time to take over Zhao Bingran's post. "

Wei Guangde nodded.

Tan Lun knew that his transfer to the Ministry of War was only temporary, just to prepare for taking over from Zhao Bingran at any time.

It's just that the errand in hand now was done temporarily by Wei Guangde, and his original intention was to help him accumulate some merit and show his face in front of the emperor.

"Okay, I'm not in a hurry at this moment. How many years have passed? As for the pier thing, I'll wait until I figure out the Ji Liao thing before I report it. Tomorrow, in addition to writing a petition, I will also report the Shanhaiguan thing. Report it to me."

Tan Lun made his decision mainly because the court had no money, otherwise he would not be so hesitant in doing things.

At the end of the second year of Longqing, just before the official sealing ceremony, the six departments and other yamen all presented their work summaries for the year. Only the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were very busy during this period because they had to evaluate officials.

Wei Guangde and other cabinet ministers are also considering writing a self-report, talking about what they have done this year. In the end, they say that they are not worthy of their duties and hope that the emperor will remove them and replace them with someone who can better lead the country.

Of course, no one would take this kind of self-report seriously, it was just a common practice, and Emperor Longqing would not just take advantage of it and eliminate people he didn't like.

On the first day of the first lunar month of the third year of Longqing, Emperor Longqing performed a worship ceremony and paid homage to the Fengxian Hall in the palace. Emperor Sejong had a few banquets at the Hongxiao and Shenxiao Halls. After the ceremony, Emperor Longqing went to the Huangji Hall, where all the civil and military officials and The tribute envoys from all over the world gave celebration gifts without having to make official announcements, banquets with hundreds of officials, and give festival money.

In the first year of Longqing, Anda Khan led his troops to break through the pass and plunder Shanxi.

However, since the end of the year, the Xuanfu army, led by Ma Fang, has continuously launched attacks, defeated many Mongolian tribes, and caused heavy losses to the Anta tribe.

In the second year of Longqing, the Xuanfu army continued to attack. Under the influence of the Xuanfu army, the Datong army, led by the chief military officer Zhao Ke, also began to tentatively leave the border, whether it was to attack the captive cavalry or to hunt grass and valleys, anyway, in Xuanfu On the same line as Datong, the Ming army went out to attack from time to time, so the Mongolian tribes grazing here had to choose to stay away.

During this period, the Anta Department could only choose to launch small-scale attacks near the border wall. Throughout the year, the border fortress that had been calling the police all year round finally became quiet.

At the beginning of the third year of Longqing's reign, the Datong Army sent back good news. Zhao Ke, the chief military officer of Datong, once again led his troops out of Hongci Fort and met the captives. He met them and was defeated. One hundred and seventy people were captured and killed, and eighty-five horses and cattle were captured. The governor of Xuanda and the Minister of War, Chen Qi, came to the school and heard about it.

Emperor Longqing was very happy after seeing this good news. In order to reward his contribution, he rewarded Zhao Ku with forty taels of silver, two pieces of silk silk, and one son for thousands of households.

The first son of Xuanda Governor Chen Qixueyin studied in the Imperial College and was promoted to the first level of Datong Governor Liu You. Zhao Peng, the first hundred households in this battle, commanded the second level of Dang Xiu's salary, and the first level of deputy general Ma Jin. He was still rewarded and helped. There are differences in the silver coins of Liu Zhimeng, Langzhong Yang Yumao and others.

Also because of seeing this battle report, Emperor Longqing remembered the grand parade he decided to prepare last year.

Therefore, Emperor Longqing summoned Wei Guangde alone to learn about the preparations for the Great Review.

To be honest, Emperor Longqing was still looking forward to the Grand Parade, hoping to see the majesty of the Ming army.

"Your Majesty, a total of more than 110,000 soldiers were selected to participate in this grand parade, including 10,000 elite border troops from Jiubian and Liaodong.

Fifty thousand soldiers were selected from the Beijing camp, and a total of about 60,000 soldiers from Jizhou, Changping, Baoding, and Shandong were selected to participate."

The current soldiers are still training in various places and are not concentrated. Naturally, there is no rehearsal. After all, it is still early, so Wei Guangde has not seen it with his own eyes.

Now that Emperor Longqing asked, Wei Guangde could only tell everything he knew first.

"Oh, Qi Jiguang only transferred the officers and soldiers who are closer to the capital to the capital camp for unified training. Others just sent people over to supervise."

After listening to Wei Guangde's words, Emperor Longqing thought for a moment before continuing: "Remember this, the imperial court must make early plans to allocate military rations and allow the officers and soldiers to go to the capital as soon as possible to participate in unified training.

Shandao, you should also go to the military camp more often and point out any deficiencies in a timely manner. "

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that except for the border army units, which will arrive at the Beijing camp a few days before the parade, all other units will arrive a month in advance to participate in the parade ceremony.

At that time, I will go over to watch the drill. If there are any problems, I will discuss them with Shilang Tan and General Qi to solve them in time. "

Wei Guangde said hurriedly, but seeing the excitement and worry in Emperor Longqing's eyes, he guessed his mentality.

That is, until the last moment, I am still worried about whether I will screw up.

During this grand parade, the Ming Dynasty notified almost all the foreign countries that still had contact and invited them to come and watch the ceremony.

The Grand Parade Ceremony has not been held in the Ming Dynasty for nearly a hundred years.

The emperor's uneasiness seemed understandable to Wei Guangde.

"Originally, I planned to go to the Beijing Camp to see what the more than 70,000 people trained by General Qi were like when I had free time in the next few days.

I heard that soldiers from Zhejiang Province also arrived a few days ago. I also want to see what the Qi family's army looks like when they fight in the south of the Yangtze River. If your Majesty is interested, why not go with me to see it first? "

Wei Guangde knew that the Zhejiang soldiers had arrived in the capital two days ago and were staying in the capital camp. He originally planned to find time to go there and open his eyes and see what the world-famous Qi family army was like.

Now seeing Emperor Longqing's expression, Wei Guangde simply suggested that the emperor go and see it with him.

"hiss"

Emperor Longqing was obviously moved after hearing Wei Guangde's words. He opened his mouth, but did not agree.

After a while, Emperor Longqing said: "It's better for Shandai to go take a look first and observe for me what the Qi family army is like."

Having said this, Emperor Longqing raised the corner of his mouth with a smile and said: "I have also heard of the name of the Qi Family Army before. I heard that this army fought with Japanese pirates. In a battle, usually no more than ten people would be killed. Most of them were Three or five people, compared with hundreds of people killed in other guard posts, it is really unbelievable."

"Haha, I also heard about this, so I am very curious."

Wei Guangde smiled and said: "When I went south on my mission, the Qi family army was still not famous. I didn't expect it to gain such a great reputation in just a few years.

I will definitely go to the military camp in a few days to carefully explore their truth and truth, and then report the truth to His Majesty. "

"So best."

Emperor Longqing chuckled, but his expression immediately turned serious and he continued: "If Shan Lian is here, it would be best to ask Shilang Tan about the Da Yue Notes.

I have taken the time to read the records of several grand parades after Yongle. Although the words "the military appearance is neat", "the steps are uniform", "the soldiers and armor are bright", "the envoys of all countries were shocked" are often used, there are not many specific details. The Ministry of Rites Have you and the Ministry of War still not reached an agreement on the ceremony and notes for the parade? "

It is also interesting to say that the military parade itself is a matter of the Ministry of War, but because it has existed since ancient times, it is necessary for the Ministry of Rites to "somewhat refer to the ancient system and take into account the time" and work with the Ministry of War to formulate a detailed set of military parade etiquette.

Regarding the Grand Parade, the Ministry of War was very active. After all, it was Wei Guangde, the youngest cabinet minister, and Tan Lun, the minister of the Ministry of War, who promoted this matter. However, the Ministry of Rites did not appear to be very active.

After Emperor Longqing made the decision to hold a grand review, shortly after the edict was promulgated, Luo Wenli from the Nanjing Criminal Bureau took the lead in writing a review, saying, "The grand review of ancient rituals is not urgent at present, and there is no need to look up to the Holy Master."

As a result, some officials were prompted to file reports and oppose the holding of the military parade for various reasons.

However, Wei Guangde ignored these objections. He was not the only one who supported this matter. Even Zhang Juzheng, who was opposite him, actually had this intention. As for Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and others, they would no longer object after Emperor Longqing clearly expressed their interest.

The memorials submitted by these officials who opposed the Great Review seemed to Wei Guangde more like an attempt to express their presence in front of Emperor Longqing.

It's just that most of these people are not officials in the capital, and they don't know that the emperor has clearly approved it. Not only do their memorials not get what they want, but they will cause the emperor to be dissatisfied with them.

"On the matter of etiquette, I will go to the meeting to urge the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War to complete the negotiation as soon as possible."

Wei Guangde smiled and continued: "Actually, there have been similar ceremonial notes for the Great Reading of the State Dynasty for a long time, but they were sealed at the bottom of the box because they have not been used for a long time. I remember that when I was in the Hanlin Academy, I was lucky enough to see one in the library during the Yongle period. Notes from the Great Reading.

I will ask people to find all these when I go back today, and then contact the officials of the second department to complete the matter as soon as possible. "

"That's very good."

Emperor Longqing nodded, very satisfied with today's summons.

After Wei Guangde left the palace, he secretly wiped away the cold sweat. He had really forgotten about the grand review.

The Ministry of War had negotiated with the Ministry of Personnel several times, but the Ministry of Rites always excused it on the grounds that they were still consulting the classics. He still knew about this matter.

But to be honest, Wei Guangde never paid attention to it, because he had actually read a commentary on the Grand Reading, so of course he considered the rules set down in that ceremony as the blueprint for today's Grand Reading.

The so-called rituals that officials from the Ministry of Rites boasted about being extremely cautious were actually a set of rules that were re-established by officials from the Ministry of Rites after reading records in ancient books at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China. All subsequent activities were actually copied from them, with just a few modifications and polishes. , there is nothing mysterious or solemn about it.

Wei Guangde has been in the Ministry of Rites for a long time, and he has long been familiar with the tricks of the Ministry of Rites.

Perhaps because they have too little real power, the officials of the Ministry of Rites like to play tricks, or pretend to be aloof, and follow "rules" in everything.

But he couldn't say anything. He did the same thing when he was a minister in the Ministry of Rites, and everyone was actually the same.

After returning to the cabinet, Wei Guangde immediately sent a note to Gao Yi and Huo Ji, agreeing to discuss the Grand Review of Etiquette at the Ministry of Rites in three days, and he would also attend.

The three-day appointment was made to avoid being let off by the Ministry of Rites again.

If you want to search the classics, then find them for me in these three days. Don't continue to shirk the blame by saying you didn't find this or that you didn't see.

"It's true that the people in the Ministry of Rites are just holding a grand parade to boost the morale of the Ming army. Some people actually think it is a signal to re-raise the status of generals."

Wei Guangde came home from the office and was still thinking about this while sitting in the sedan chair.

However, the next day, not long after I stayed in the cabinet, someone announced outside that Gao Yi, the Minister of Rites, had arrived at the cabinet and was now checking in with Chief Assistant Li Chunfang. Wei Guangde was invited to come over.

He just sent a note to Gaoyi yesterday, and today they called at his door. Wei Guangde was still wondering in his heart, is it worth running to find Li Chunfang for just such a thing?

When Wei Guangde passed by, he met Yin Shizhen on the road. When he was approaching the door, he saw Zhang Juzheng in front of him. It seemed that he had alarmed the entire cabinet, so when he stepped in, he didn't have a good look on his face.

"Zhengfu, Shandai, you should also come and take a look. This is Gao Shang Shu's memorial. Yifu and I have already read it. After reading it, tell us what you mean."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng, who had entered the door a step earlier, was looking through a memorial in his hand, which was obviously written by Li Chunfang's Gao Shangshu.

After Wei Guangde saluted the others, he walked to Zhang Juzheng and sat down, waiting for him to finish reading.

However, Yin Shizhen seemed to be impatient and asked, "What important event did Uncle Zong play today? My uncle is still watching, so why not tell me directly? I am impatient and want to find out more."

"Haha, it is indeed a big deal for the country."

Gao Yi just laughed, but he didn't tell the matter directly as he wished, but was a little vague.

Wei Guangde knew that Gao Yi came to the cabinet today not because of the note he sent yesterday, so his face looked better, but he was also surprised that he hadn't heard that the Ministry of Rites had been instigating any major events recently.

Wei Guangde's job as a minister in the Ministry of Rites was not for nothing. Naturally, he gathered a group of subordinates in the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Rites would pass on news to him on any big or small matters.

However, when he returned home yesterday, including the past few days, he didn't seem to see anything sent by the subordinates of the Ministry of Etiquette.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng had finished reading the memorial. He looked up at Wei Guangde first and smiled. Then he handed the memorial to Yin Shizhen. At the same time, he leaned towards Wei Guangde and said, "It seems that you and I are related."

"what's up?"

Wei Guangde said suspiciously.

I just thought it was none of my business, but the next moment Zhang Juzheng said it had something to do with him.

"Da Zongbo asked the prince to give lectures"

Zhang Juzheng said in a seemingly calm tone.