The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Mr. Wei Ge, Mr. Chief Assistant, please come over for a moment. We have important matters to discuss."

On this day, Wei Guangde was handling official duties in the duty room. The leisurely time at the beginning of the year had already ended. Various reports from all over the Ming Dynasty were coming in like a snowstorm, and the cabinet became even busier.

"Why have you summoned Mr. Li Ge?"

Wei Guangde put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at the visitor and asked.

"The palace sent an edict to Liu Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue, asking Liu Shangshu to become an official."

The scribe replied hurriedly.

"Commissioned?"

Wei Guangde was shocked when he heard this. The palace ordered Liu Tiqian to become an official. In fact, it only left him a trace of face and asked him to take the initiative to resign, so that everyone would look better.

"Do you know the reason?"

Wei Guangde knew that Emperor Qianlong did not like Liu Tiqian, and Liu Tiqian had angered Emperor Longqing several times because of money.

Although he had some guesses in his mind, Wei Guangde still asked one more question.

"It seems that because of the jewelry purchase, the Ministry of Household Affairs yesterday sent back documents to the inner court to purchase gold jewelry."

The clerk really knew what was going on, maybe because he overheard the conversation in Li Chunfang's room, but Wei Guangde also knew the reason why Li Chunfang asked them to go.

It is no small matter for the Minister of the Ministry of Finance to order him to become an official. The official position of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is enough to cause competition among all parties in the court.

However, Wei Guangde knew that Li Chunfang asked them to go to discuss whether the cabinet should submit a petition to stay.

After all, Liu Tiqian was not ordered to serve because he committed a crime, but because he disobeyed the emperor through purchasing, so he was punished.

Wei Guangde didn't waste time, packed up the memorials on the table and quickly went to the first assistant's check-in room.

He went early, and soon everyone else arrived.

"According to the news from the Ministry of Household Affairs, a few days ago, Cui Min, a lieutenant general, went to the Ministry of Household Affairs and asked for one hundred thousand taels of silver to purchase pearls, yellow green jade and other items. Liu Shangshu refused sternly because there was insufficient silver in Taicang, and said that it was already the third time this year. The first time I asked for money from the Ministry of Accounts, the money from the shipping warehouse was more than 100,000 yuan.

Cui Min filed a complaint when he returned to the palace, saying that he was disrespectful to His Majesty, and this was the result.

I have called you here to discuss whether the Cabinet should report to Your Majesty, please stay in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. "

Li Chunfang briefly explained the matter in one breath. Sooner or later, this will spread. If it is known that the cabinet is silent on this, it will have an impact on the reputation of everyone in the cabinet.

Regardless of whether the emperor listens to the advice or not, it seems that the memorial can convey an attitude to the outside world, which is also good.

"Your Majesty has been evil for a long time. No matter what, it is the right thing to do to persuade him to stay."

Yin Shizhen said.

Although Zhang Juzheng on the side did not speak, he was nodding. Not to mention Wei Guangde, who had known for a long time that such a day would come. In fact, he was also surprised that Emperor Longqing could endure it for so long before having an attack.

You must know that after realizing that the emperor was dissatisfied with Liu Tigan last year, Wei Guangde once thought that the emperor would transfer Liu Tigan to his post.

Yes, it was a transfer, such as transferring to Nanjing. After all, Liu Tiqian worked hard in the Ministry of Household Affairs and made no mistakes.

"It is best to proceed with caution in this matter. Ti Gan is disrespectful to His Majesty. How can we ask His Majesty to keep him?"

But at this time, Gao Gong's voice reached the ears of several people. For a moment, everyone couldn't help but look at Gao Gong, with mixed emotions in his eyes, ranging from surprise to anger.

Wei Guangde also felt very bad. He really didn't expect Gao Gong to be completely different from before.

If it had been that year, Gao Gong would have rushed to the Qianqing Palace to argue with the emperor at this time.

Yes, Gao Gong was someone who dared to discuss right and wrong with Emperor Longqing face to face. He was a person who both respected and resented Emperor Longqing.

But this time when he returned to court, he seemed to have really changed a lot. He knew how to flatter the emperor instead of looking at the right and wrong of things.

"Sir, Chief Assistant, if you are summoned here today just to discuss this matter, I apologize that Gao will not accompany you. I still have many official documents that I have not read.

But don't use the name of the cabinet when submitting a petition to retain him. Gao Mou disagrees. "

As he spoke, Gao Gong had already stood up to leave.

"Qing Su, stay."

Chen Yiqin had already stood up at this time, walked quickly to Gao Gong and whispered a few words to him in a low voice.

However, Gao Gong did not answer, but shook his head, seemingly not accepting Chen Yiqin's words, until he walked out of the check-in room under the puzzled eyes of everyone.

"In that case, let's play each other."

Chen Yiqin was very disappointed. After saying something casually, he turned around and bowed his hands to Li Chunfang before leaving.

Li Chunfang was sitting in her seat, her expression did not change at all, she looked very energetic. She was not angry because Gao Gong left like this. She said with a kind face: "In that case, let's go back to the check-in room and get down to business. As for the body work, If you are willing to do something about it, just give me a memorial. If you don't want to, don't force it. ’

Wei Guangde, Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other and stood up to say goodbye to Li Chunfang.

The three of them stopped by and walked back together. When they were about to reach a fork in the road, Zhang Juzheng finally couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty has changed a lot since he came to the throne. I didn't expect Gao Suqing to change even more after returning to the court. I don't know if this is a blessing or not." disaster. ’

After saying this, Zhang Juzheng handed over to Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde.

The two of them also hurriedly returned the salute when Zhang Juzheng saluted. After Zhang Juzheng left, Yin Shizhen asked in a low voice: "Do you want to go sit with Yifu first?"

"Forget it, he must be in a bad mood right now. I'll be the host when the office is dismissed later and go have a drink at home. Let's talk about this later."

Wei Guangde said.

"Okay, then I won't bother you."

Yin Shizhen said with a smile, and the two of them continued walking back, but after a few steps, Yin Shizhen still sighed and said, "I don't know what will happen to Liu Tiqian in the end, alas."

Retirement means that normally retired officials have the right to enjoy the rights stipulated in the relevant system, while being ordered to serve is punitive. It means that the emperor may deprive officials of the rights they should enjoy. It is the emperor's punishment for ministers who go against his will and do not obey him. retaliation carried out.

In other words, even if Liu Tiqian submitted a petition to resign, it did not mean that the matter was over. It still had to be seen how Emperor Longqing would respond.

In the approval process, it is possible to deprive him of his official status. If so, he will not be able to enjoy the rights that retired officials are entitled to.

Under normal circumstances, the emperor would never retain an official who was ordered to serve, unless he encountered huge political pressure, such as when Li Chunfang asked everyone to discuss whether the cabinet should submit a petition to retain the official.

In fact, if the cabinet took the lead in asking the emperor to keep Liu Tigan, it would be possible for other officials from the government and the opposition to follow suit, and then jointly exert pressure on the emperor in a tacit understanding.

But obviously, Gao Gong was not willing to do this, and walked away without giving Li Chunfang face.

If the cabinet is not unanimous, it will be difficult to be the leader of all officials in the court to oppose this matter.

In fact, by now, Liu Tiqian's resignation has been confirmed and cannot be changed.

Wei Guangde was still thinking about the matter when he returned to the duty room. He had some doubts about whether Gao Gong wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to win the position of Minister of Household Affairs.

He himself had already mastered the Ministry of Personnel, a major weapon in managing official promotions. If he was allowed to control the financial resources of the imperial court, Wei Guangde could not even imagine what Gao Gong would eventually develop into.

When he first knew that Gao Gong was coming back, Wei Guangde also hoped that Gao Gong could come back to teach Emperor Longqing. After all, some of the emperor's behaviors at that time really seemed a bit foolish.

Unexpectedly, Gao Gong came back. Not only did he not point out some of the emperor's mistakes and help him correct them, but he actually helped the emperor to perpetrate evil.

To be honest, if the rest of the cabinet supports the petition to retain Liu Tigan, Wei Guangde will not object, but if he is asked to petition on his own, he will never do it.

Because this was a feudal society and the emperor's rights were supreme, Wei Guangde had no intention of going against the emperor. That would be a thankless task.

I don't know how long it took, but when Lu Bu came in to refill Wei Guangde's tea cup, he reported in a low voice: "Just now, the palace summoned Mr. Gao Ge to come over and talk."

"oh?"

Wei Guangde retracted his thoughts and looked in the direction of the palace involuntarily.

He felt that summoning Gao Gong at this time was probably for this matter. In order to capture Liu Tigan, the emperor obviously arranged for people to keep an eye on the cabinet very early.

Ordering Liu Tiqian to serve was not a whim of the emperor, but perhaps a carefully considered choice.

At this time, Gao Gong had already entered the main hall of Qianqing Palace. Emperor Longqing summoned him. He did not mention what had happened in the cabinet before, but asked about the situation of the officials.

Recently, the Ministry of Personnel's adjustment of officials in various places has come to an end. The emperor just casually asked about the arrangements of officials in some important prefectures and counties.

"Master Gao works hard on state affairs, and his hard work brings great rewards. However, he must also pay attention to his health. He must not be exhausted because of this."

Emperor Longqing seemed to be very satisfied with Gao Gong's ability to handle government affairs, and spoke after Gao Gong finished explaining the arrangements.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. As a minister, you should serve your country, otherwise you will be a corpse.

The official affairs of the Ministry of Personnel are related to the selection of officials. If the selection of officials is not done well, not only will they be ineffective, but they will also harm the people under their rule.

Since I am trusted by His Majesty to be in charge of official affairs, I naturally have to do my best and dare not slack off. "

Gao Gong bowed and replied, "In addition, I have learned a lot about the official system of various places in the past few days. I have recently completed a memorial, and I would like to ask your Majesty to read it."

As he spoke, Gao Gong took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

The eunuch on the side immediately took two steps forward to take the memorial from his hand, and then returned to the emperor.

Taking the memorial from the eunuch, Emperor Longqing immediately unfolded it and read it carefully.

"Abolition of redundant personnel in Jinyi?"

Soon, Emperor Longqing noticed the main content of Gao Gong's memorial and asked for the dismissal of officials. The first one to bear the brunt was Jin Yiwei's huge reward.

Many of these people just stopped doing things after they received the title of Jin Yiwei, and then took advantage of their official positions to do evil outside. Only a very few people can work in Jin Yiwei with peace of mind.

Gao Gong proposed to clean up this part of the officials. According to the memorial, there were a huge number of such generals, no less than a thousand. Every year, at least more than 100,000 taels of salary and silver were withdrawn from the treasury of the two capitals.

Emperor Longqing did not express his position immediately. You must know that the emperor would give such a reward because his family must have made great contributions to the court.

Even if these people only take money and do nothing, although the court will lose some money, how can they take it back just as they say?

"Master Gao, the memorial mentions some official positions that can be dismissed. I don't have any objections. It's just that I want to think about it more."

Emperor Longqing didn't think there was any problem with the abolition of some official positions, not to mention the axing now. If it is later found that these positions are still needed, the Ministry of Personnel will then report to the Ministry and resume the appointments.

These are just small things.

On the other hand, taking back the reward of Jin Yi's personal army was a big deal in the eyes of the emperor. It was a matter of the emperor's face.

Although he did not agree to abolish the imperial guards, he did agree to abolish redundant officials. Gao Gong felt that he had not written this memorial in vain.

"Then I will report this matter in the name of the Ministry of Personnel when I get back. Jinyi's troops will not be cut off for the time being."

Gao Gong said, and when Emperor Longqing nodded, he continued: "But I also remind Your Majesty that as far as I know, the number of Jinyi Guards in the world today reaches one hundred thousand, and one can imagine the redundancy among them.

The number of thousands of people is just a rough calculation of the royal reward. There may be more people. Please pay attention to this matter, because it is too much.

The current imperial court is in financial distress and cannot afford to support so many people. "

"I know, and I will ask Zhu Xixiao to check when I come down. If there are really so many redundant personnel in the pro-army, I will not be lenient on those who should be laid off.

However, it also depends on the situation. For some people who have made great contributions to the country, it is better to give up the reform. "

Emperor Longqing still insisted on what he meant and spoke to Gao Gong.

After Gao Gong said goodbye and exited the hall, Emperor Longqing sat quietly on his throne and thought for a while, then suddenly asked: "Call Feng Bao over. I have something to ask him."

The eunuch beside him immediately took the order and left. Not long after, Feng Bao came to Qianqing Palace out of breath.

After Feng Bao entered the hall and kowtowed, Emperor Longqing asked loudly: "Master Gao came here and said that my Jinyi Guards have as many as 100,000 people? Does your Dongchang know about this? Are there really so many Jinyi Guards?" "

Feng Bao had previously received an order to ask him to come over. He only heard that the emperor had just summoned Gao Gong, and he immediately called him. He thought that Gao Gong had made slanderous remarks in front of the emperor and wanted to harm himself. Who knew that when he came in, he heard that the emperor had But he asked about Jin Yiwei, and he was stunned for a moment.

"What are you doing standing there stupidly? Let me ask you, are there really one hundred thousand Jin Yiwei?"

Emperor Longqing felt unhappy when he saw Feng Bao stunned on the spot, and his tone of voice became rude.

After being pressed by the emperor, Feng Bao also reacted and said hurriedly: "Reporting to your majesty, I really don't know how many Jinyi guards there are, but there should be about 30,000 Jinyi guards in the capital, and how many guards there are in each place?" It's hard to say.

Although the Jinyi Guard System also has thousands or hundreds of households, in fact, except for Han generals, school captains and powerful men, there is no customization. The number of people depends on the need.

It is said that Jin Yiwei still has a large number of spies distributed in various places, and there are even spies outside the Ming Dynasty. However, these are all covered up by Jin Yiwei and they are not known for a while.

Your Majesty asked your servant how many people there were in the Jinyi Guards. I was afraid that only the commander of the Jinyi Guards could tell clearly. "

"There are 30,000 people in the capital's fourteen thousand-household residences?"

Emperor Longqing frowned, feeling that the number of one hundred thousand was probably a misinformation, and Gao Gong must have believed the rumors.

There should be the largest number of Jinyiwei in the capital. Most of the other places have hundreds of households, with only a few hundred people. How could they possibly make up a hundred thousand people?

Thinking of this, his brows widened, but out of curiosity he still told Feng Bao: "Go to Zhu Xixiao and ask how many Jin Yiwei there are on the list?"