The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Brother Zili, I really didn't expect to see you, please come in.

The time has come to December of the fifth year of Longqing. Seeing that one year is about to pass, every household has begun to be busy with new year's goods.

Although Wei Guangde obeyed Ding You, he still prepared new year's goods at home during the New Year.

He was just a vegetarian, but others didn't have to, so he arranged for someone to escort his wife and children to Jiujiang Mansion to pay New Year's greetings to Father Wei, while he stayed alone in Bengshan Castle.

That day, when I came back from offering incense on my mother's grave, I heard that there was a visitor.

When he saw the person, Wei Guangde was shocked, but he quickly recovered and warmly came forward to greet the visitor.

The person who came was naturally Tan Lun, the governor of Jiliao, but now he has resigned from his post and returned directly to his hometown in Jiangxi on the grounds of recuperation. As for the errand of Minister of War, he resigned directly, and he also wanted to return to his hometown early to celebrate the New Year in his hometown.

This was the case for officials in ancient times. When they were officials in a different place, it was almost difficult for them to return to their hometown to celebrate the New Year with their families.

This time I was passing by Pengze. Thinking that Wei Guangde was still here, I decided to stop by and come over to take a look.

“It’s hard to describe a good loan in just one word.”

Tan Lun looked at Wei Guangde who came over and sighed.

"Please come inside, it's very cold outside."

Wei Guangde brought Tan Lun into his home, put on several more stoves for warmth, and ordered people to prepare meals.

Although people are not allowed to drink alcohol when they come from afar, they still have to have the proper etiquette.

After being ordered to go down, the two of them sat in the room, warming themselves by the fire and chatting.

Wei Guangde's life has been monotonous since he returned to Jiujiang. After all, there were many taboos during Ding You's time. Even if he didn't feel anything subconsciously, he was still worried about violating taboos and being known.

In fact, it is different from what later generations thought. It seems that in ancient times, we could live like modern times, do whatever we wanted, and take as many wives as we wanted.

But you don’t want to think about it. Confucianism is deeply rooted these days, and the word "ritual" really restricts people.

Of course, people like landlords and gentry who are not involved in the officialdom do not need to worry about these worries.

The government emphasizes that the people should not be punished but should not be punished. As long as you handle your housework well and no one will report it to the government, you can bully men and dominate women, and the government will not bother to pay attention to it.

But people who really have some status, those who are famous, have some scruples.

After talking about his own affairs, Wei Guangde quietly listened to Tan Lun talk about the affairs in the court.

Although he knew something about what happened through the imperial newspaper, it was only on the surface after all, and he could make some guesses about the inside story, but after all, he was not sure.

Now that Tan Lun has returned from the north, he knows a lot.

So in the following time, Tan Lun told Wei Guangde the news he knew, including what Zhu Heng said about the fights in the cabinet. Datong, Xuanfu and other places asked for money and food from time to time. It was not them who wanted it, but what they planned to give to the Mongolian tribes. reward.

"Don't talk about the situation in Xuanda. It's our Ji Town. In the past six months, four or five tribes have come to ask for rewards from the court in the name of paying tribute."

Tan Lun said to Wei Guangde angrily.

"You can't be a grassland tribe and just pay tribute and ask for rewards, right?"

Wei Guangde was a little suspicious. Didn't Wang Chonggu agree with An Dahan about the rules of paying tribute? It shouldn't have happened.

"They are all tribal leaders who have been granted official positions by Your Majesty. There are quite a few people who have been granted official positions by Your Majesty this time. From the King of Shunyi on down, there are also a large number of official positions such as commanders, ministers, and thousands of households.

According to the grade, if they send horses ranging from one to nine, the court will reward them with twice the price of the horses.

You have to say it's not too many, but if it's too frequent, it will be troublesome to receive them. "

Tan Lun smiled bitterly and said, "He didn't come forward for any of these things. Even if it was Qingtai Ji who came, he didn't pay attention to it. He only asked his men to come forward to entertain them in the border town."

"Why don't you go to the Ministry of War? At least you can stay in the court and help Brother Shinan.

Now among the nine ministers in the court, only brother Shi Nan is still struggling to support me. I think that when I first entered the court, it was still a grand occasion for the court officials to be half Jiangxi, alas."

Thinking about the past and now, Wei Guangde couldn't help but said with some distress.

"Time is ruthless, they are getting old, and we haven't picked them up, isn't that all?

Besides, what if there are more of us in the court?

Can you compete with Gao Xinzheng?

Recently, Gao Gong has punished many officials in the court. As long as they are impeached by the censor, he will send the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to assist in the investigation. Once found out, he will severely punish them.

To be honest, I quite admire him for having the guts to rectify the officialdom in this way in the current environment. "

When Wei Guangde heard Tan Lun talk about Gao Gong's anti-corruption, he couldn't help but remember that when they were still in Prince Yu's Mansion, Gao Gong had expressed many times how he would rectify the administration of officials when he was in charge of the court one day, although he would not be like Zhu Yuanzhang. Corrupt officials can only be killed, but their removal is certain.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde's heart moved and he couldn't help but ask: "Gao Gong is responsible for the evildoers, so what does Zhang Shuda do? There is no way he will not participate at all."

"Uncle only needs to be in charge of the Ministry of Accounts and the Ministry of Works. He is too busy with money alone. How can he interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel.

What's more, even if Gao Xinzheng asks him to do it, he may not be able to do something that offends others. "

Tan Lun smiled and said, "But now in the court, there are still people discussing peace talks privately. What was your attitude at the beginning?"

Wei Guangde and Ding You were at home, so when the court was discussing, Wei Guangde did not submit the memorial.

As for Emperor Longqing's secret box, he wrote it, but the outside world didn't know about it. After all, he didn't follow the path of the Chief Envoy.

"be opposed to."

Wei Guangde was very direct and told everything about his original thoughts.

It wasn't that they were unwilling to negotiate peace with the Mongols, but the terms of the peace negotiation were too unfavorable to the Ming Dynasty.

"This matter, Su Qing and Xue Fu are eager for quick success. They could have put it off."

Wei Guangde said, "Actually, the three strategies proposed by Xuefu were very good from the beginning. In the end, the Tatars cannot afford to delay this matter, not me, the Ming Dynasty."

At this point, Wei Guangde pointed outside and said: "If we put it off for a year, when the weather turns cold at the end of the year, I'll see if An Dahan still dares to put it off.

When I was still in the court, I saw Jinyiwei's secret performance many times. There have been many white disasters on the grasslands in recent years. Not only the cattle and sheep were lost, but the population was also lost a lot. "

"I've heard about this too, it's a pity."

Tan Lun said, not knowing whether it was a pity that Gao Gong had ruined a good hand, or a pity that Wei Guangde was not in the court at the time and could not stop it.

Wei Guangde seemed to feel something, but the man looked at Tan Lun deeply and then said: "Actually, regarding the contract, I have read the transcript sent by the palace, and also sent a letter to Your Majesty, stating my attitude. "

Having said this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "As you know, His Majesty was probably persuaded by Gao Suqing and agreed to the terms of the Datong Peace Agreement.

When the Manchu Dynasty fell in love with His Majesty, neither Yifu nor I spoke up for him. In fact, it was because Xu Jie came to us privately and believed that it was not a good thing for him to stay in the court with his influence on His Majesty. Son. "

"I have a document here that Datong reported to the horse market. Take a look."

With that said, Tan Lun took out a copy of the memorial from his pocket and handed it to Wei Guangde, and said: "Brother Shinan sent someone to prepare this, and it is not in the newspaper."

Wei Guangde took it and took a look. Sure enough, it recorded the transaction information of the horse market. It should have been copied by the Ministry of War.

From May 28th to June 14th, the official market of Datong Desheng Fort sold 1,370 horses from the Anda tribe of Shunyi King, with a price of 1,545 taels, and the private market sold 6,000 horses, mules, donkeys, cattle and sheep. , the reward fee is nine hundred and eighty-one taels.

From the third to the fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month in Xinpingbao, there was an official market. Huang Taiji's Wushen tribe had 726 horses, priced at 4,253 taels. In the private market, horses, mules, cattle and sheep were 3,000, with a reward fee of 500. Sixty-one taels.

From June 13th to 26th in Zhangjiakou Fort of Xuanfu, there were 1,993 horses from the Dacheng tribe of Kunduli Hayong Shaobu in the official market, priced at 15,277 taels, and in the private market, horses, mules and cattle There are nine thousand sheep, and the reward fee is eight hundred taels.

"Xuan Dahao has official cities in Shanxi, but there is no organization in Ji Town?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously.

"The horse market is only in Xuanda. Jizhen has not received the order to open a horse market, so naturally it will not do it.

It's just that the tributes from various ministries are sent to the nearest border fort, so the border town naturally doesn't dare not accept it. "

Tan Lun smiled bitterly.

"The horse trading is too frequent. Organizing several horse markets in March alone is really against the original intention."

Wei Guangde was still looking through the information behind carefully. In addition to Xuanfu Datong, Shanxi was also allowed to open border markets. During this period, Shanxi Shuiquanying and other two forts also opened markets.

"By the way, I almost forgot about the real thing."

Suddenly, Tan Lun slapped his forehead and said.

Wei Guangde didn't know whether he felt the atmosphere of the chat was dull and deliberately changed the topic or what. He just looked at Tan Lun curiously, wanting to know what he was going to say next.

"Shi Nan told me one thing before I came back. He asked me to come back and bring you news. Pan Sheng, the Minister of Rites, has already begun to prepare for the Crown Prince to leave the court to study. He had previously submitted a petition to the department to pre-select a lecturer and plan for it. Handle matters such as applying school honors and books.”

Tan Lun then said.

When he heard about the matter involving the prince's studies, Wei Guangde was naturally interested and immediately asked: "Has your majesty ever issued an edict to appoint officials?"

It is no small matter for a prince to study, let alone a prince.

It can be said that as long as the emperor chooses to be a teacher beside the prince, it is not an extravagant hope to join the cabinet in the future.

Let’s not talk about the far ones, but the closest ones are naturally Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Wei Guangde. Their origins have a clear mark on them, “Emperor Master”.

At the beginning, Emperor Longqing had said that Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng would teach the prince, but Wei Guangde knew in his heart that the prince could not have only two teachers.

Four or five teachers are considered normal, and don’t be surprised if seven or eight teachers take turns teaching.

Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to who the emperor has chosen as Zhu Yijun's teacher. If there are too many people and the positions are full, his little Jiujiu will make a mistake.

Yes, he actually had a vague guess in his heart that Emperor Longqing only had a few years to live, and Zhu Yijun should soon ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

Well, how can a nine-year-old naughty boy govern the country? It's just a bunch of ministers taking care of the affairs of the court.

Thinking about what it was like in the early days of Emperor Yingzong, the "Sanyang Cabinet" controlled the government. It can be said that many of the powers of the current cabinet are thanks to that era.

That was also the best era for the civil service group. It was not until the rise of Yingzong's pro-government and Wang Zhen's rise that the civil service was suppressed again.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think of those things during the Yingzong period, and his heart couldn't help but tremble.

Yes, he was thinking of the Zhu Yijun period after Emperor Longqing. Is it another replica of the Yingzong period?

Wang Zhen finally died in Tumubao, and his cronies who stayed in the court were beaten to death by ministers. As for what happened to Wang Zhen's family, Wei Guangde didn't know, but he didn't think it would end well.

The later chief minister Zhang Juzheng was said to be extremely prosperous during his lifetime, but after his death he was liquidated and many of his family members starved to death.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde hesitated a little, not knowing what would happen if he became an official.

The thought only occurred for a moment, and he had already heard Tan Lun's answer in his ears.

"Your Majesty approved it, but asked the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites to choose teachers in the Hanlin Academy, but he did not make a decision. I think even if it is really arranged, it will be next year.

But as far as I know, the Hanlin Academy organized two exams after that.

If you have stayed in the Hanlin Academy, you will naturally know that there were such exams in the past, but they were mostly at the end of the year and the beginning of the year. "

Tan Lun smiled.

The Hanlin Academy exams are actually composition essays. Shujishi has to write such essays every month and submit them to the teacher.

For those with official status, there will be one or two such exams every year, requiring essays to be submitted to the bachelor in charge.

Of course, the quality of the article will not affect your career as an official, but there will be comments, which will affect your promotion.

Wei Guangde couldn't say anything at the moment. In fact, it was difficult for him to determine whether it was good or bad to be a minister under Zhu Yijun.

"There's another thing. Brother Shinan doesn't know what you think, so let me come over and tell you."

Tan Lun said again.

"What's the matter?"

Wei Guangde asked strangely.

“There have been many accidents in Caohe over the years, and in the past two years, grain has not arrived on time and in full, so there have been a lot of disputes between North Korea and China.

One day, the Jiao-Lai Canal was opened, and the canal ships sailed from Huai'an to Tianjin through the Jiao-Lai Canal, bypassing the old route of the Yellow River.

Brother Ke Shinan contacted Shandong about the matter and sent people to survey the terrain and found that it was too difficult to dig the Jiaolai Canal and there were many uncertainties, so in the end the court could not discuss it. "

Tan Lun began to explain the matter to Wei Guangde. In fact, this was the source of the conflict between Yin Shizhen and Gao Gong. However, although Gao Gong was determined to dig a new river channel, Gao Gong died only after the survey personnel from the Ministry of Works returned and reported the difficulties. This thought.

Although the discussion of the Jiaolai Canal was rejected, Zhu Heng came up with another idea when he exchanged letters with Liang Menglong, the governor of Shandong, that is, instead of digging the Jiaolai Canal, the canal could be sent directly from Huai'an to Tianjin, bypassing Jiaozhou.

"Governor Liang said that there were traders from Huai'an to Jiaozhou North, or from Tianjin to Haicang, and boats often passed through the middle. There were also island merchants from Jiaozhou to Haicang, which shows that the sea route is feasible.

Approximately every year from before May, the wind is smooth and soft. After this time, when the wind becomes softer, we can go out to join the sea. If the flood season is not good, the weather will be good, that is, thousands of ships and thousands of oars will be safe from other troubles, and we can provide relief. Beijing Chu. "

Tan Lun said.

"Of course it's possible."

When Wei Guangde heard that Zhu Heng and Liang Menglong were considering using sea transportation instead of water transportation, he naturally supported it in his heart.

He originally wrote a memorial to Emperor Longqing, but in the end there was no follow-up.

Among them, Wei Guangde could guess some of them, that is, the impact was too great, and it was difficult for the emperor to make a choice.