The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"The annual income of the state funds is not enough to meet its expenditure, and those who beg for payment have to pay extra every time, and the people are poor and have all their money. It is up to the ministers to calculate the amount of income and expenditure this year with their husbands. Now, now Fees such as soldiers and horses, millet, and salary and grain items for each clan were presented to the emperor for inspection. All internal and external expenses such as those of ministers and ministers were still allowed to be saved. Money and grain should be saved for those who should be revolutionized. A memorial was prepared and requested to be published in a book for distribution at home and abroad. There was a regular system for common people. The national economy can be relieved and people’s livelihood can be protected.”

Wei Guangde was sitting in the cabinet duty room, reading the accounting book sent by the Ministry of Accounts, which detailed the income and expenses from the beginning of the year to the present. He also estimated in his mind that there should still be more than 300,000 taels of silver in the Treasury of the Ministry of Accounts. It seems that the money that needs to be paid before the end of the year is even more, more than 500,000 taels, and it is not sure whether there will be any new expenses in the last month.

Thinking that this memorial must have been prepared by Emperor Longqing, Wei Guangde suddenly felt something in his heart, and then he looked through it again, and soon found the project of purchasing jewelry for the inner court, which cost 210,000 taels of silver.

Thinking of Liu Tiqian's rejection of Emperor Longqing's order to purchase jewelry again two months ago, he sighed, "It's not easy to run a household in this household."

Turning to the next memorial, it is still a memorial from the Ministry of Household Affairs, but this time it is jointly submitted with the Ministry of Works. The two ministries have already agreed to start the construction of two embankments at Qingjiang and Gaojiajian after the year. One dam will be built for more than 50 miles, and another dam will be built for more than 70 miles, a total of 120 miles. It is planned to recruit the surrounding people to complete the project within three months, and rush to complete it before June.

These data were calculated by the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs based on the statistics of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Wei Guangde knew that there would be no mistakes.

Maybe it will be very hard for a civilian husband, but there is nothing we can do about it. This is how we have practiced cultivation in the past.

After scrolling down and taking a quick look, Wei Guangde suddenly lost interest in reading any more. Especially the memorials from the Ministry of Finance were all concentrated on him.

"Good loans."

At this moment, a figure flashed at the door, and Chen Yiqin walked in.

"Brother Yifu, come on, please sit down."

Wei Guangde hurriedly got up, asked Chen Yiqin to come in and sit down, and asked Lu Bu to bring tea.

"Handling official business."

Chen Yiqin looked at the memorial open on Wei Guangde's desk and asked with a smile.

"Today I have all the memorials from the Ministry of Household Affairs. One is the accounting book from this year to the present. The other is the memorial from the river workers. This one is the petition for payment of wages. I don't know what is behind it. I haven't read it yet. ,hehe"

Wei Guangde curled his lips and said, "By the way, Brother Yifu, why are you looking for me today?"

"Your Majesty has approved the memorial of Gao Shangshu begging for leave. This is the Minister of Rites."

Chen Yiqin paused here and seemed a little embarrassed.

But when the words fell into Wei Guangde's ears, he certainly knew what was going on and wanted to recommend someone.

However, he did not answer the call, but planned to hear who Chen Yiqin could recommend.

"I have checked the position of Minister of Rites before. The positions of Minister of Rites are vacant in both the northern and southern capitals, so it is impossible to transfer people from Nanjing. I can only choose among the Ministers of Rites.

I plan to support Zuo Shilang Zhao Zhenji as Minister of Rites. What do you think? "

Sure enough, after Chen Yiqin finished speaking, Wei Guangde understood his purpose, which was to get the position of Minister of Rites.

Zhao Zhenji, a native of Tongziba, Neijiang, Sichuan, is a fellow villager of Chen Yiqin. It is said that the ancestors of the Zhao family are the descendants of Zhao Xiong, the right prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Wei Guangde had no intention of objecting to this matter, and just nodded slightly. However, thinking of Chen Yiqin's statement that there was a vacancy in Nanjing's Ministry of Rites, he couldn't help but regret not pushing Lin Fiao to that position earlier.

It's not that Wei Guangde doesn't want to, but because Lin Fu has just been transferred to the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs as a minister, it is really difficult to be promoted to another level in a short time. No matter what, he will have to pass the exam in three years before he can be promoted or make any major contributions. .

But what great achievements can be made in Nanjing?

Therefore, there is only mixed seniority.

The ministers of the Six Ministries of Nanjing generally do not arrange for anyone to take over, unless there is an official from Beijing who has lost power and reaches a certain level before they go to Nanjing.

But at that moment, Wei Guangde wanted two official positions, one was the Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, and the other was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing.

Lin Fiao is now the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing. He might as well find an opportunity to be promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel later this year. As for the Ministry of Rites, Wei Guangde has already thought of an official who became an official in the Jiajing Dynasty, that is Wu Shan, the former Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Wu Shan was initially suppressed because he offended Yan Song, and because he neglected to speak out about the solar eclipse incident, he disobeyed Emperor Sejong and was dismissed from his official position.

When the chaos was brought to order in the first year of Longqing, there was no vacancy in the court and Xu Jie did not want to bring in a prestigious veteran like Wu Shan, so he refrained from issuing an order to recall him.

The official positions here in Beijing are very difficult to arrange directly for Wu Shan, but there are many ministers in Nanjing.

Although Wu Shan is a relatively upright person, there are not many Jiangxi fellows who are qualified to become ministers.

Although he is the Minister of Rites in Nanjing and is mainly responsible for the Jiangnan imperial examination, he still seems to be very powerful.

"When it comes to the vacancy of the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, I immediately think of one person."

Wei Guangde followed Chen Yiqin's words and said that he did not mention Zhao Zhenji's matter, which actually meant that Wei Guangde agreed to the matter.

Chen Yiqin couldn't recommend Zhao Zhenji directly. In fact, he asked Wei Guangde to recommend him. In exchange, it seemed good to let Chen Yiqin recommend Wu Shan to head the Nanjing Ministry of Rites.

Nanjing Ministry of Rites?

Chen Yiqin was stunned at first, then understood what Wei Guangde meant, so he asked with a smile: "I wonder who Shandai is optimistic about taking this position?"

"Wu Shan, the former Minister of Rites, I think Brother Yifu will be familiar to Mr. Wu. It was because of his integrity that he hated the late emperor at first, but there is no doubt about his character."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Wu Shangshu, I think it's okay. Jiangxi is not far from Nanjing. Wu Shangshu is also old, so he is suitable for this position."

It was just the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, and Chen Yiqin didn't pay much attention to it.

In fact, the officials in Beijing didn't like the officials in Nanjing very much. After all, they were all squeezed out, but their rank was high enough, and they might steal their way at any time.

Of course, for cabinet ministers, there is certainly no threat, that's all.

Next, Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde chatted for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.

The matter of coming here today has been settled, and Wei Guangde will make a recommendation during the cabinet meeting later. When the time comes, he will also push Wu Shan up.

This was just a small transaction between Wei Guangde and Chen Yiqin, so neither of them planned to talk to Yin Shizhen.

However, when Chen Yiqin was about to leave Wei Guangde to check his room, he suddenly turned around and whispered to Wei Guangde who was escorting him out: "In the past few days, several ministers have impeached Hai Rui. I heard that Gao Xinzheng always put in good words for Hai Rui. He is diligent in political affairs.”

"What's the news from Mr. Wang?"

Just at the door, Wei Guangde asked softly.

"There are people in the imperial history who have connected this matter, mostly from Jiangnan."

Chen Yiqin said.

"We can just sit back and watch this matter. Now that he has ended, it is none of our business."

Wei Guangde said with a smile.

Chen Yiqin nodded, then turned and left.

At this time, Lin Fiao, whom Wei Guangde had just thought of, had already received an order from the capital.

"Send someone to inform the Duke of Wei that an imperial edict has arrived."

Lin Liao told the people around him that this was also the rule. The imperial edict would not come suddenly, but would give the party receiving the edict a certain amount of time to prepare, including recalling family members who needed to participate in the ceremony and preparing items to receive the edict.

"Eunuch Li has worked hard all the way, please take a rest here before we set off to the Duke of Wei's mansion to deliver the order."

After Lin Fiao made arrangements, he said to the eunuch who was delivering the order.

They were blocked on the Yellow River for two or three days. After the flood receded a little, the north-south traffic gradually resumed. As a messenger angel, he was naturally the first to obtain the right of passage. Others, even watercraft, had to stay away.

After Wei Guogong Xu Pengju learned the decree from the capital on his bed, although he didn't know the content, his heart trembled.

He already knew that the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment had arrested people and recorded confessions and sent them directly to the capital. Even if his immediate contacts tried to tamper with it, it would be too late.

These days, his condition has worsened.

Despite this, he still dragged his sick body to arrange the reception of the order.

This matter is related to the attitude of the minister towards the royal family, which cannot be careless.

If there is any negligence in receiving the order and the news is passed back to the capital by the eunuch who passed the order, the consequences will be unpredictable.

"Hurry and come back to Bang Ning, change your clothes, and ask Bang Rui to do the same. Come to my place right away. There is also the incense table and the incense burner at Madam's side."

Taking a strong breath, Xu Pengju continued to give orders. As the current Duke of the country, he had received countless orders, but never once did he feel as unsure as he did today.

Fortunately, he had seen a copy of the confession from the Ministry of Punishment before and knew that only Xu Bangning was involved. Perhaps the court would issue an order to reprimand him for brotherly disharmony. After all, the Xu family was the Duke's family, and such a thing should not happen.

In his heart, he was ready to be scolded by the emperor. As a father, he failed to educate his children well.

However, when Wei Guogong Xu Pengju, supported by his two sons, took Zheng to receive the decree, he already felt his hands and feet were cold while the eunuch was still reading out the decree, and he almost fainted. Fortunately, the two sons beside him saw the opportunity and supported him. He didn't lose his composure at this time.

After the edict was read out, while Zheng was in a state of despair, two chamberlains came forward and took away the phoenix crown and harem from her head.

After the "Wuzhai Crown" worn by Zheng was taken away, the Xiapei coat was also taken away and placed on a tray.

At this time, Mrs. Zheng could only look at the headdress inlaid with gold and jade on the tray in despair. It was composed of pearls, peonies, green clouds, flowers with gold treasures, gold pearls, etc. It was the symbol of her royal wife. , has always been regarded as a treasure by her, and it is the talisman that allows her to settle down and live in the Duke of Wei.

Now that she has seen it taken away, she no longer knows what will happen to her in the rest of her life.

Suddenly, Mrs. Zheng felt a sweetness in her throat, a tightness in her chest, and her intuition fell into a trance for a while before she fell unconscious.

Zheng, who had fainted, was supported by the maid. Xu Bangning hurried over and called his mother softly, but there was no response.

"Oh, please send Madam back to the backyard."

Xu Pengju just sighed and ordered around.

When he looked at Zheng, Lin Fiao and Xu Bangrui just looked at each other covertly and nodded slightly.

Seeing the embarrassment in Duke Wei's palace, Lin Fiao turned around and whispered to the messenger angel: "Eunuch Li, Duke Wei has been ill for a long time. The reprimand your Majesty wants should be done by me later, and then reported to your Majesty."

After finishing speaking, Lin Liao licked her lips in the direction of Xu Pengju, meaning that he wanted to see for himself. With the state of Wei Guogong, he was afraid that if he knelt down again, he would faint again.

"That's fine. After I return to Beijing, I will report back to Your Majesty truthfully and will not make things difficult for you."

Eunuch Li also saw that the Duke of Wei, Xu Pengju, looked bad now, not because he was angry, but because he was sick. The sickness on his face was clearly visible.

He was also worried that he would be involved because of this. After all, if someone was killed by delivering a message, he would not feel better when he returned to the capital. At the very least, he would not have to think about such errands out of the capital in the future.

Little eunuchs like them are like grandsons in the palace, being ordered around by the big eunuch, but it is different when they go out of the capital to deliver orders. Their rank is not high, but they are one level higher than the official. It is a beautiful life. It doesn’t work.

If an official wants to curry favor with someone in the palace, he will be lenient in receiving red envelopes and gifts.

It was hard for him to get into this job, but he didn't want to screw it up.

They were sent out by Xu Bangrui from the Duke of Wei's mansion. Xu Pengju was very tired at the moment and couldn't entertain them, so he entrusted Xu Bangrui with everything.

In fact, by this time Xu Pengju also came to his senses. He could only pass on his title to Xu Bangrui. It was no longer possible to give it to Xu Bangning. It was better to delegate power directly.

If you don't have to worry about the affairs of the house anymore, you might be able to live a little longer so that you can make some arrangements.

He has now remembered what Liu Cai, the Minister of War, said at the time. He had a good relationship with Liu Cai, so he approached him and asked him to help facilitate this matter, but he was rejected.

Afterwards, Liu Cai even advised him that if it was really for Xu Bangning's good, he should arrange a stable position for him as soon as possible to prevent his brothers from falling out.

Now it seems that Liu Cai's original advice was right.

After Xu Bangrui sent them out of the house, he naturally gave a big red envelope to Eunuch Li and Lin Fiao.

In fact, the red envelope is very thin. There is only one piece of paper inside, which is a gift list.

The things will not be delivered to them now, but in the evening, in the dead of night, someone will deliver them directly to where they live.

"Don't worry, Eldest Young Master, no one can change your identity. Before I left the capital, His Majesty called me to speak alone. He only said that Young Master should guard Nanjing and Jiangnan well. Your Majesty will not treat the heroes of the Ming Dynasty badly."

Eunuch Li was also making nice remarks now. He might not have known about the dirty tricks of the Duke of Wei before, but after a thorough investigation in the capital, he already knew about the overt and secret fights for the Duke of Wei.

"Please Eunuch Li report to Your Majesty after he returns to Beijing. Your Majesty, Xu Bangrui, will live up to His Majesty's instructions and will do his best to serve Your Majesty."

Xu Bangrui said to Eunuch Li seriously.

Lin Fiao and Eunuch Li each got on the sedan, and they had already taken out the red envelope and looked through the gift list inside, while Xu Bangrui had been standing outside the house, watching the honor guard go away.

When he turned around, he saw the people in the mansion, and he could see the sincere respect in their eyes.

After this incident, his authority in the Duke of Wei's palace will increase several times, and his right to speak is only second to Duke Xu Pengju of Wei.