The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After Emperor Longqing issued an order to recall Gao Gong, on the first day, the military department sent a memorial to Ouyang Yijin to resign. On the second day, Yang Bo, the Minister of Civil Affairs, came to beg for his return. As if a faucet was turned on, memorials flew to the cabinet one after another. , flew into the Qianqing Palace where Emperor Longqing lived.

Gao Yi, the Minister of Rites and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, begged for leave because of his illness.

Wei Xue, the right deputy of the Imperial Censor, begged to return home for treatment because of his illness.

Mao Kai, the Minister of Punishment, begged for leave due to illness

In the past ten days, nearly ten important ministers of the court have resigned, which is nothing more than a slap in the face to Emperor Longqing and Gao Gong, who is still in Xinzheng.

Emperor Longqing chose not to accept all of these resignation letters that suddenly appeared. Although he was a little dissatisfied, he still personally approved them and expressed gentle words to persuade them to stay.

Despite this, it still caused an uproar in the court.

It can be said that Gao Gong's return this time has already gained momentum even though no one has arrived.

While people were talking about it, letters quickly left the capital and went south to Xinzheng.

These are all written by Gao Gong's disciples.

He didn't say anything before, but now that the emperor has issued an order to recall Gao Gong, naturally the relationship that should be maintained will continue to be maintained.

If such a shocking thing happened in the court, it would be natural for Gao Gong to know about it. Otherwise, if he arrived in the capital in a daze and didn't know the situation in the capital at the moment, wouldn't it be ridiculed behind his back?

When the memorial was rejected, Yang Bo, Ouyang Yijing and other officials who had already made up their minds to leave the court did not give up. Instead, they issued a second memorial and a third memorial two or three days after the rejection of the memorial, in order to express their gratitude. The emperor expressed his attitude.

When the emperor wanted to recall his old ministers, they really had no words to object, so they could only express themselves through actions.

However, for the sake of face, everyone uses illness or old age as an excuse.

At Chen Yiqin's house in the capital, today Chen Yiqin invited Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen to have a drink. During the dinner, he couldn't help but said angrily: "You know? The prince also came to me two days ago and said that he planned to resign after the New Year."

"Why? It's also because"

Yin Shizhen was surprised at first, and then seemed to have some enlightenment.

"Although the prince did not clearly express his support for Xu Jie in that incident, he settled a lawsuit against Mr. Xu Ge at that time, so that Gao Suqing could not use the topic as an excuse, and naturally he was offended."

Wei Guangde shook his head and chuckled.

"It's not that Zizheng is afraid of Gao Gong, it's mainly because the censors below were mostly involved in this matter at the beginning. He expected that Gao Gong would definitely use the power of the Ministry of Personnel to rectify the Metropolitan Procuratorate after returning to the court, and as he But it is difficult for the head of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to interfere with the arrangements of the staff."

Chen Yiqin said sadly.

"Now that I think about it, we thought differently. When His Majesty revealed this intention, we should have spread the news and let the courtiers make trouble."

Wei Guangde really felt a little regretful at this moment. He had chosen to hold back and not say anything, which finally led to what happened today.

If he had known that the news of Gao Gong's return to the court was so explosive and would directly shake the court, he should have thought of ways to let the emperor know the impact of this matter.

"It's useless to object."

Chen Yiqin shook his head and said: "Our Majesty, if he has not made a decision, he can be persuaded, but once he says it, it actually means that he has made a decision.

Once he has made a decision, he will not change it easily. No matter how much trouble the ministers make, he will not agree to it.

Now those who have submitted petitions to resign are not accepting it, but it is just for the sake of good looks. He does not want all the important ministers in the court to leave before Gao Gong comes back, leaving an empty frame.

Today, His Majesty summoned me alone and asked me to advise Mao Kai, Yang Bo and others to slow down and wait two months before reporting. "

"Over at Ouyang Yijing, His Majesty said the same thing when he saw me yesterday, and asked me to help deliver a message to the Sixth Section."

Wei Guangde drank the wine in his glass with a wry smile. It was the first time he felt that the wine was so bitter.

While Wei Guangde and others were tasting the bitter wine in the capital, Hai Rui had already banged the table in the back hall of the governor's Yamen Yingtian.

"Lawless and disrespectful of national laws, I didn't expect that Xu Ge's family would be so greedy and extravagant."

Hai Rui said angrily, slapping the letter in front of him with his palms.

"Dong Weng, please calm down. It's better to try to calm down the matter. If the news reaches the capital, I'm afraid it won't be good."

A middle-aged master reminded him respectfully from below.

"Calm down my anger, how do you want me to calm down?

I always thought that the Xu family only accepted some activities of offering tricks, flying tricks, spreading factions, and sending money to the village. Although it was harmful to the public and private, Xu Gong's integrity was not a loss, but do you know?

The Xu family not only accepted a large number of donations from the countryside, but also used the power of the elders to seize and dominate the fabric market. There were 20,000 weavers in Songjiang alone, and they almost monopolized the Wuzhong fabric workshops, and their fabrics were even sold in large quantities to the capital.

The land in the south of the Yangtze River was extremely concentrated, and wealthy families were connected with each other, and other scholar-bureaucrat families in Wudi were also interested in this business. It is no wonder that places like Wuzhong actually suffered from famine, and they used the lack of water conservancy as an excuse.

Nearly half of Songjiang's tax revenue goes to the Xu Mansion. All taxes submitted by local officials to the capital come from the Xu Mansion. What is he going to do? "

Hai Rui wouldn't know it if he didn't investigate. In order to fully understand the situation in Songjiang Mansion, Hai Rui sent trustworthy people into Songjiang to inquire about the news. He didn't expect to get such shocking news.

The local government has a treasury but does not store official silver, so it actually borrows money from Xu's treasury.

As for why this happened, Hai Rui still couldn't figure it out. It must have been replaced with inferior silver. In other words, the fineness of the gold and silver was lowered, and the Xu family would eat the difference.

As for whether these low-quality silver coins will be rejected by the Ministry of Revenue when they arrive in the capital, think about the relationship between Mr. Xu Ge and any of the officials below who dare to make mistakes.

The children of the Xu family used various fraudulent methods such as donations and deceitful mailings to embezzle state wealth, exploit the people in the countryside, and seize the farmlands that others relied on to make a living. Therefore, in a very short period of time, the Xu family developed into the Songjiang Prefecture. The first family has unparalleled wealth.

"Dong Weng, it is best to negotiate with Xiang Xu privately to resolve this matter. If we report it to the police, it will involve countless people, which is really unwise."

The master still chose to persuade Hai Rui, fearing that if the matter was revealed, it would cause a huge turmoil and eventually capsize his own boat.

Hai Rui stared at the master for a long time, only to stare at him until he was sweating all over. Then he looked away, lowered his head and thought for a moment before saying: "Then you come over and draft a letter to Xu Jie. You must make it clear that the first Songjiang official Yin will not enter Xu Mansion from now on.

Secondly, the Xu Mansion has thousands of registered family members, and they are showing off outside. They want him to self-examine and remove those fake household registrations so that they can no longer use their reputation to do evil.

Third, there has been a serious famine in Wuzhong in recent months, and the Xu family should take the lead in donating money to relieve the people.

Fourth, more than half of the fields must be withdrawn from production, otherwise the matter will never be rectified. "

After Hai Rui stated his four conditions, he sat down, his eyes closed slightly on the back of the chair and fell asleep.

Although the master felt that Xu Jie might not accept his master's request, he also knew that it was an order from the master and that he, the servant, had to do it.

So, I quickly walked to the writing desk, laid out the letter paper, and after just a brief thought, I picked up my pen and started writing.

The four requests made to Hai Rui were also written in detail in the letter, but in my heart I still hoped that Huating would know what was going on and choose to settle the matter like them.

Now, news has spread in Suzhou Prefecture that Gao Gong, a cabinet scholar who was defeated by Xu Jie two years ago, has been recalled to the capital by the emperor and restored to his original position.

With this old rival returning to the court, Mr. Xu Ge will probably consider the consequences. If his political opponents seize the opportunity and criticize him, he may follow the same path as Mr. Yan Ge before him.

Up to this point, Hai Rui still wanted to handle Xu Jie's case locally and did not intend to make the matter a big deal. It would really damage the dignity of the court if the news spread.

Moreover, the scope of involvement was too wide. Not only were the past several officials sent to the prefecture unlucky, but many people from six ministries including the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works were also responsible.

At this time, in the main room of Duke Wei's Mansion in Nanjing City, Duke Xu Pengju of Wei was lying on the bed, looking at the potion on the tea tray in front of him, but he really had no intention of taking it.

"Take it down, I don't want to drink it."

After giving the order, the maid carrying the plate had to step aside.

But the master didn't drink the medicine, and she didn't dare to go out just like that. She could only wait until the master wanted to drink it before serving it. If the medicine got cold, she had to heat it up quickly.

"Hasn't Bunning found it yet? Go and ask the housekeeper to come over."

Xu Pengju was not in good spirits at this time. He had previously ordered his son Xu Bangning to come here, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't arrive. Unconsciously, he felt a little irritable.

Not long after, Xu Liang, the steward of Duke Wei's palace, entered the house. He first saluted Xu Peng and then said, "Master, the young master went out to the city to hunt with his friends this morning. He has not been found for a while."

"Have you picked out the gifts I asked you to prepare? Show me the gift list."

When he heard that Xu Bangning had gone out of town to play with others, Xu Pengju was not furious.

It is indeed not easy to find someone after leaving the city. It is normal to not be able to find someone for a while.

Not long after, the housekeeper sent several gift lists to Xu Pengju. After taking them, Xu Pengju looked at them carefully, and then thought about it and said: "For Duke Chengguo, Dingguo, and Mr. Li Ge and Mr. Chen Ge, There is also an additional 20% for the gift from Gao Shangshu, and the rest is like this.

Pack it up and arrange for someone to escort it there in the next two days. Then the memorial letter I wrote will be brought to the capital.

When Bunning comes back, if it's too late, let him come to me. I'll tell him personally, and if it's too late, let him come to see me early tomorrow morning.

Also, be careful about these things and don’t let Bang Rui know about them, do you understand? "

After Xu Pengju finished speaking, the housekeeper said with a little panic: "Master, there are many people in the house and it's not easy to avoid the people on the eldest son's side."

"Then you make arrangements to deliver the gifts to Zhuangzi today. When the time comes, let Bangning go to Zhuangzi to pick up the gifts and go directly north to the capital."

Xu Pengju gave the order after thinking about it.

There are a lot of officials in the capital to take care of this time. The gifts should be put in at least ten cars. It will definitely not be easy to cover up the news when they are sent out of the mansion. So, in the name of sending goods to Zhuangzi, we can transfer them out of the mansion first.

"Master, there is one more thing. I just received the news that Gao Gong, the cabinet minister who was defeated by Mr. Xu Ge the year before last, is going to return to the court. The imperial edict has been issued. Do you want Gao Gong to give you a generous gift? ? After all, he is the Imperial Master, so his words should not be taken lightly."

The housekeeper thought of the news he had just received today that Gao Gong had already decided to return to the court, so he reminded him.

As a housekeeper, of course he knew exactly what his master had planned. Seeing that the Duke was afraid that he might not be able to survive, the issue of the successor became his top priority.

Although he was not optimistic about Xu Bangning, whether it was his personality, conduct, or the relationship behind it, the master insisted on recommending Xu Bangning to succeed the Duke of the country. As a servant, he naturally couldn't talk much, so he could only try his best to handle the matter.

"Is the rumor confirmed?"

Xu Pengju opened his eyes, glanced at the housekeeper, and asked.

"It has been confirmed that the decree was issued half a month ago."

Butler Xu Liang said hurriedly.

"Send one as the highest gift and say congratulations on his reinstatement."

Although it was very painful, Xu Pengju couldn't care less at this time.

"Master, my uncle won't give you anything at all?"

The housekeeper asked hesitantly at this time.

"I won't send it this time, so as not to alert the snake and let him find out. I just hope that everything will go as expected and that the matter will be resolved quickly and the identity will be finalized.

Regardless of whether it is the Nanjing Ministry of Rites or the Beijing Ministry of Rites, they must take good care of me and avoid any trouble. "

Xu Pengju reminded again.

"Yes, sir, I'll go down and make arrangements right away."

The housekeeper waited quietly for a moment. Seeing that Xu Pengju had no new instructions, he said goodbye and exited the room.

And when he was busy working in the warehouse of the mansion and arranging people to escort the goods, in the study of Xu Bangrui in the East mansion, a man dressed as a servant was kneeling in front of him and narrating the previous conversation in Xu Pengju's room.

"Go down."

After listening to the conversation in the room over there, Xu Bangrui raised the corner of his mouth and put on a sarcastic smile, which then disappeared.

After asking the man to step back, he nodded to the attendant beside him and motioned for him to go out and reward him.

After everyone left the house, Xu Bangrui couldn't help laughing.

If Xu Bangrui didn't know what his father Xu Pengju wanted to do before, now he knows it clearly.

The memorial requesting Xu Bangning was not sent to the palace through the normal procedure, but was intended to be delivered through the nobles in the capital and delivered directly to the emperor.

With his memorial, the emperor would most likely directly approve it and then order the Ministry of Rites to handle the etiquette of canonizing the crown prince.

As long as the Ministry of Rites complies with the instructions, the title of Wei Guogong will definitely fall on him after his death.

For insurance purposes, a large amount of property was actually prepared to be sent to the capital for officials of the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites.

And all he did was to make it an established fact before Wei Guangde knew about it. After all, Jun Wuxi said that as long as Emperor Longqing agreed to make Xu Bangning the heir apparent, it would be difficult for him to stand up.

However, although Xu Pengju had a good idea, he didn't know that Wei Guangde had already arranged everything. Now Lin Fiao, the right servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, was actually arranged by Wei Guangde to prevent him from being registered.

Lin Fiao came from an extraordinary family. His ancestor was Lin Han, who was a Jinshi in the second year of Chenghua. In the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, he became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing.

Lin Han gave birth to nine sons, including Lin Ting, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Lin Tingji, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites of Nanjing. Lin Fu is the eldest son of Tingji. Although he is in the Ministry of Personnel, he is in charge of the affairs of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites. It is only a matter of time before he becomes the Minister of Rites.

As for the relationship between Lin Fiao and Wei Guangde, it comes to the collation of "Yongle Dadian" and the compilation of "Chengtian Dazhi". Lin Fiao has always assisted Wei Guangde in doing things, and was later promoted from the Hanlin Academy to the Imperial Academy. , Taichang Temple Minister were all written by Wei Guangde.

Let Lin Fiao come to Nanjing, firstly to ensure that the Nanjing Ministry of Rites will not agree to Xu Bangning's affairs, and also to arrange helpers for the old Wei family.

"Someone is coming."

After waiting for the people to come in, Xu Bangrui ordered: "Send a message to Lin Shilang's house, and I will invite him to a banquet at Heminglou tonight."