The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde didn't know that many officials in the DPRK were interested.

It's not for promotion, but he is considering whether to avoid disaster, leave the court before Gao Gong enters the court, and use retreat as a retreat for a while.

The people who have these thoughts are of course the same people who stood up for Xu Jie in the first year of Longqing and opposed the high arch.

Those with low official positions can be said to be fine, but those at the vanguard of various ministries are as anxious as ants on a hot pot at this moment.

If Ouyang Yijing knew about it, he could only sigh in his heart, "I am not alone in my ways." There are many people who think the same as him.

Yang Bo, an official known for his knowledge of the military, had served successively as the Governor of Xuanda, the Governor of Jiliao, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, as well as the Young Master and the Crown Prince. Facing Gao Gong who was about to return to the court, Yang Bo chose to stay away. Not to mention other people.

In the Palace of Qianqing, Emperor Longqing wrote an edict in front of the Imperial Bookcase and handed it directly to the eunuch Teng Xiang who stood beside him.

"Send it to the cabinet and let them draft the decree and print it out."

"According to the order."

After all, it was an edict. Tengxiang hurriedly bent at 90 degrees, raised his hands and took the edict from Emperor Longqing, then stood up and quickly walked out of the palace to the cabinet.

No matter how unwilling he felt, Tengxiang did not dare to disobey the emperor's wishes, and he had to happily accept the emperor's order to run errands.

He had already seen it clearly from the sidelines when the emperor was writing earlier. There was only one sentence in the edict: "The young master is also the prince's tutor, the official minister, and Gao Gong, the bachelor of Wuyingdian, is the former official in charge of cabinet affairs and in charge of the official affairs." .”

Wei Guangde, the cabinet minister, was on duty. At this time, Wei Guangde looked at a memorial from the Ministry of Etiquette in his hand and felt a little sad.

It's not a big deal, but this is the first time it has fallen into his hands to commend the chaste women reported by various prefectures and counties. The Ministry of Rites has approved eleven of them, and now they are reporting to the imperial court to draft an imperial edict.

Wei Guangde briefly glanced at the list. Henan's Mengjin County resident Li Jizhong's wife was the Sun family, Changli County resident Qidao's wife was the Wang family, and Shandong Dingtao County resident Kong Yanbi's wife was the Qiao family.

He took out the note, wrote it in the memorial of the Ministry of Etiquette, then put it aside and asked someone to send it away later.

The imperial edict to chastity women was actually what later generations called the erection of chastity memorial arches, which used imperial edicts to praise chastity women and publicize and educate people in the world to abide by etiquette.

This is also a routine practice of the Ministry of Rites, which selects a group of people every year to commend them.

Just when Wei Guangde picked up the next memorial and had no time to open it and read it, a figure flashed in front of the door and a voice came in.

"Has Shan Loi come back?"

"Mr. Yin Ge, Mr. Wei Ge has come back and is working in the duty room now."

"Okay, it's none of your business. I'll go in and find something to do with him."

As he said this, someone came in.

"Brother Zhengfu."

Wei Guangde looked up and saw Yin Shizhen entering the door. He quickly stood up and cupped his hands.

"Shandai, have you finished your work with Your Majesty?"

Previously, Emperor Longqing announced that Wei Guangde was going to Qianqing Palace, and the news naturally spread in the cabinet.

Well, even if he announces his visit to others, Lu Bu will inform him immediately.

These days, everyone is actually doing the same thing, paying close attention to every little disturbance in the cabinet.

"Actually, it's nothing. The errands assigned by His Majesty before have suddenly come to mind for some reason. I've been asking about this for two days in a row."

Wei Guangde said helplessly.

"What's the matter? Are you still urging me?"

Yin Shizhen also asked curiously.

"imperial clan."

Wei Guangde just replied.

"Well, that doesn't help you."

The affairs of the clan were troublesome, and all the ministers in the court knew that Yin Shizhen immediately stopped talking when he heard that Emperor Longqing's instructions to Wei Guangde were about matters related to the clan.

"Brother Zhengfu came to my place."

After talking for a long time, Wei Guangde was still curious about what Yin Shizhen was doing here.

Could it be that he was tired from the office and came here to relax and chat for a while?

However, what he said at the door earlier was that he had something to do with him, which was a bit strange.

"Look at my brain, I've even forgotten the main thing I came here for."

Yin Shizhen slapped his forehead and said with a smile, then reached out and took out a memorial from his sleeve, "Take a look."

"Where did it come from?"

Wei Guangde reached out and took it, but still asked.

"The six subjects will be reported to His Majesty, but we don't need to vote for them."

Yin Shizhen replied.

"oh."

Wei Guangde agreed casually, pointed to the empty chair next to him and motioned for Yin Shizhen to sit down, and he also sat down and opened the memorial to read.

"The Criminal Division would like to report to Shu Hua, who is responsible for the matter: The emperor made a secret visit to the factory guard for the political affairs of the ministry, and all the officials were frightened and at a loss.

Now that the power is returned to the factory guard, if someone is not upright and something is wronged, the door of Luo Zhi will be opened, right and wrong will be reversed, and loyalty will be harmed.

The factory guards appointed by the emperor must be entrusted by the factory guards. This generation is greedy and cruel, and people's hearts are in danger.

I hope the emperor will take back the order to appease the people. "

After reading the memorial to Shu Hua from the Criminal Division, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered what Zhang Juzheng said two days ago.

"Zhang Shuda instructed Shu Hua to write it?"

Wei Guangde said immediately.

"I didn't know this, but we were both there that day. My uncle told me about this. I didn't expect to receive this today, so I brought it to you to see and think about what he meant."

Yin Shizhen replied.

Wei Guangde just thought about it, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong, so he shook his head and said, "Maybe one of our disciples had his braid taken away by the factory guard?

As for the others, I really can’t think of them. "

After hearing what Wei Guangde said, Yin Shizhen frowned and asked, "Are you not familiar with him?"

"It's not that we're familiar with each other. Although Shu Hua is also from my hometown, he was born and raised in Zhejiang. His father received the Dongyang Edict in Zhejiang for his meritorious service, so he's not very familiar with people here in Jiangxi.

Although our fellow villagers would invite him to banquets, but in terms of the scene, we did not have a close friendship. "

Wei Guangde finally understood the reason why Yin Shizhen was looking for him. When he saw Shu Hua's memorial and thought that he was from Jiangxi, he thought that this matter was his order, so he came to ask. After all, Zhang Juzheng had just been in front of them two days ago. Mentioned this matter.

"This kind of memorial is as good as not being published. How could I let someone do such a thing?"

Wei Guangde shook his head and smiled.

"It seems that what my uncle said two days ago may have been an unintentional move."

Yin Shizhen thought about it before saying, "Perhaps someone down below really talked about this matter, and he just said it casually after hearing the news."

"Perhaps, don't worry about it. His Majesty will not be stupid enough to withdraw the factory guards. What's the difference between that and a blind tiger with a broken claw?"

Wei Guangde said casually, but as soon as he said this, his expression was horrified, and then he looked like he suddenly realized something.

"What, did Shan Loi remember something?"

Yin Shizhen saw the change in Wei Guangde's expression and immediately wondered.

"Brother Zhengfu, do you still remember the day of the Winter Solstice last year?"

Wei Guangde suddenly mentioned what happened last year. Yin Shizhen didn't understand it for a moment and then shook his head.

Wei Guangde saw that Yin Shizhen did not think of it, so he laughed and said: "Last winter solstice in the suburbs, I heard the emperor's cough. He deduced that the yin and yang were gradually recovering, and asked the heaven to nourish the yang. His words were very clear.

However, the next day, His Majesty issued an edict stating that the disaster was coming, and that the ministries and departments were not in charge of political affairs, and that the factory guards were ordered to conduct a close inspection.

After that, the factory guards kept going for a while, often going to the ministry to inquire about government orders. At that time, we went to tell His Majesty, and His Majesty also asked the factory guards not to interfere with the ministry's work.

I remember that Shu Hua said at that time that the factory guards patrolled the chariots and only punished traitors and banned thieves.

It is the emperor's right to control hundreds of officials, but if the inspection is illegal, the responsibility is to admonish in Taiwan, which is not what the factory guards can do.

Today's assassination visit will definitely open the door of Luo Zhi and use the trap of traps to bring disaster to good people and make everyone tired and exhausted. How can we cure it?

Moreover, if the factory guards are not capable of self-inspection, they must belong to the special school.

Your Majesty doesn't believe in ministers, but does he believe in you?

At that time, some people agreed and planned to jointly submit a memorial, but I persuaded them to stop. Later, we raised the matter when we met with His Majesty.

This memorial is probably due to another conflict between the officials of the ministry and the school, so it was pretended to be a spy. "

"I remembered this when you mentioned it."

Yin Shizhen smiled and nodded.

"He is from the Criminal Department. It is estimated that the conflict was caused by either the Criminal Department or Dali Temple."

Wei Guangde said with some certainty at this moment, "Go back and find someone to check and see what happened."

At this moment, there was a commotion in the courtyard, as if someone had come in, and the ministers outside were greeting him.

Not many people can have such a big reputation in the cabinet. Apart from the six ministers, there are only a few high eunuchs in the palace.

Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen looked at each other, stood up, walked to the door and took a look outside.

Sure enough, an eunuch wearing a flying fish suit or a python suit had already walked into Li Chunfang's room. Because it was just a back view, neither Wei Guangde nor Yin Shizhen recognized him.

But at this time, Lu Bu, who was looking out, turned around and saw Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen standing at the door, and hurriedly came over.

"Who came just now?"

Wei Guangde asked directly.

"It's Eunuch Teng Xiangteng of the inner court. He went directly to the chief assistant's room."

Lu Bu replied.

"knew."

Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen just looked at each other, and both could see the clear look in the other's eyes, but there was still a hint of unwillingness.

When the great eunuch came to the cabinet, he basically had nothing to do except bring the emperor's edict. If he summoned someone, he usually just sent out a random eunuch, so there was no need for the great eunuchs to intervene.

Sure enough, not long after, Tengxiang walked out of the room where Li Chunfang was on duty. Li Chunfang also accompanied him out of the room. After bowing to each other, Tengxiang strode away.

Li Chunfang just watched the person walk away, then turned around and gave two instructions to the person next to her, and the person went to the room next to Chen Yiqin's duty room.

"Here he is, he's finally here."

Yin Shizhen said.

"Yes, but His Majesty is really patient this time."

Wei Guangde answered.

Sure enough, not long after, someone came to report that the chief minister was invited.

In fact, drafting a decree is a trivial matter. Both Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin are good at this.

However, Li Chunfang still chose to summon all the ministers in the cabinet. In fact, it was to give everyone a break and let people know the news of His Majesty's decree.

When Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen arrived, Chen Yiqin was already inside, and Zhang Juzheng also arrived first.

After all, Zhang Juzheng entered the cabinet earlier than they did, so the value of his room was closer to that of the first assistant.

"Let's see. His Majesty asked the cabinet to draft an order to recall Gao Gong from his original post."

When Li Chunfang saw that Wei Guangde had also arrived, he handed the edict he had just received from Teng Xiang to Chen Yiqin next to him.

Chen Yiqin also stretched out his hands to take it and glanced at it, then began to pass it among several cabinet ministers, and finally returned it from Yin Shizhen's hands to Li Chunfang's.

It has to be said that Gao Gong's Sacred Heart is high, and when he returns to the cabinet to work as a bachelor of Wuying Palace, he has the same status as Chen Yiqin.

It's just that the second assistant is still Chen Yiqin, but it is calculated from the time he joined the cabinet now, not the time he first joined the cabinet.

But even so, Gao Gong's status surpassed that of Zhang Juzheng, and Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen also moved down one place.

Although Wei Guangde felt uncomfortable with Gao Gong's queue-jumping behavior, there was nothing he could do about it. After all, it was the emperor's wish.

"Let Yifu draft this edict. Once it's completed, it will be handed over to the Supervisor of Ceremonies."

Li Chunfang said, "This decree has been delayed for more than a month, but it has finally been issued."

No one was gloating over the misfortune, and all the faces were filled with wry smiles.

After they left, the news that the emperor issued an edict to recall Gao Gong spread quickly from the cabinet, shocking both the government and the public.

Even though there were expectations, the impact on officialdom was still obvious.

Some people felt proud and applauded loudly. Of course, these people were Gao Gong's friends and disciples.

Others are dejected, as if they were mourning their heirs.

Of course, most people still think it doesn't matter. They participated in the reverse arch, but because they were not the vanguard, they just charged behind others.

These people also see clearly. Even if Gao Gong comes back to retaliate, he will only choose those who take the lead in the various yamen, not them.

The law does not blame everyone, and it is applicable regardless of whether it is against the superiors or the inferiors.

Liuke was the one who had the strongest fight with Gao Gong at the beginning, so many of them hated Gao Gong.

It is conceivable that the first target of Gao Gong's return to the court is likely to be those in the Sixth Section.

At this time, no matter which room it was in Liu Keli, the atmosphere in the room was very depressing.

Although the decree drafted by the cabinet has not been sent to the Sixth Section, the general situation has still been spread.

Their news channel is of course not the cabinet, but the news coming directly from the inner court and the Qianqing Palace.

The emperor's edict was seen by many people, so the news of Gao Gong's recall was first circulated in the palace, and the yamen in the palace were the Sixth Section and the Cabinet, so it was easy to get wind of it.

"Alas, it's a pity that we didn't find a way to punish Gao Suqing and give him a chance to make a comeback."

Many people can't help but think about it.

But this can only be thought about. Not to mention the relationship between Gao Gong and Emperor Longqing, even Xu Jie would not be willing to kill him like this. It would only push his relationship with the emperor to an even more extreme point.

Xu Jie is not a fool, he knows how to give up when something is good.

After the success, he retreated completely, which may not be without reason.

If Gao Gong was really tortured to death, Emperor Longqing would not let him go so easily.

Everyone in the six departments remained silent, but Ouyang Yijing, the only one in the military department, felt bitter about the incident.

Although I had spoken tough words to Wei Guangde's family at the beginning, when it came time to take the chance to become an official, I still felt deeply unwilling.

But when I think about Gao Gong as a person, when the old and new emperors were changing, some people who had offended Gao Gong were punished very miserably by him. He almost chased and beat them up, deprived them of their honors and even burned Gao incense. If it can be like this Temporarily withdrawing from officialdom seems to be a good choice.

After returning home from office, Ouyang Yijing dug out the memorial he had written in his study and checked it again, preparing to submit it tomorrow.