The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Yang Bo officially took over the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Naturally, his first memorial after taking office was to request the Beijing Inspectorate to remove incompetent officials. This marked the beginning of the imperial inspection in the Gaogong era.

As Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde, and Lu Tiaoyang resigned from their posts, they were no longer as good as a single official in Yan Yi, and no more than a simple handle in judging ministers. They submitted memorials begging for dismissal. After the emperor refused, all officials Such memorials were given one after another.

Lu Shusheng, Minister of Rites, Wang Xilie, the Minister of the Left, and Wang Xilie, the Minister of the Right, each presented their official ribbons and edicts, and continued to serve as usual.

When high-ranking officials reported that they were incompetent, they were naturally just pretending. The emperor refused and allowed them to continue serving. Naturally, there was another result for those who were verified by the Ministry of Personnel.

This Beijing inspection lasted for one month and was originally targeted. The inspection conducted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other yamen quickly denounced Mu Wenzhao, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and handed them over to Han, Cheng Wen and other thirty-two officials of the Song Dynasty. Fifty-three members including Xu Fuyuan, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, and Li Chun, the imperial censor, were demoted and transferred to foreign posts.

Zhang Qi, the prime minister of Guanglu Temple, and two other officials stayed idle, Shangbao Si Qingcheng Cheng Zhongsheng was transferred to foreign posts, and Si Cheng Chen Yide stayed idle.

Therefore, this time in the capital ended very quickly, and a large number of officials were dismissed. After this inspection, all the high-ranking parties in the government offices in the capital were eliminated.

After a brief period of fright, the other officials from the capital quickly realized that they seemed to be dealing with people who were close to Gao Gong. The attention they had left suddenly became valuable, and everyone kept moving around. Relationships want to be promoted.

Even if he couldn't be promoted, he would naturally hope to be transferred to a yamen with more wealth or more power.

Among the people who were defeated this time, there were quite a few people from the Sixth Section and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, enough to keep them busy, and the imperial court's fortunes soon recovered with the end of the Beijing Procuratorate.

For the senior officials of the imperial court, the changes caused by the imperial inspection were insignificant. After all, most of Gao Gong's disciples had entered the officialdom recently and held low official positions.

After waving the big stick, when Yang Bo's inspection in Beijing was about to end, he wrote another seal.

On the fifth day of the eighth month of the sixth year of Longqing's reign, the Ministry of Personnel announced the issue of granting and granting. Anyone whose grandfather's official position was higher than that of his descendants could be promoted to the first rank of casual official. Fan Ding was worried about recovering from his illness and gave him a fake official title as a gift to meet Ren Tong.

If the grandfather's status is reduced, he is allowed to make a petition, and the grandfather is allowed to live in leisurely life. If a foreign official is promoted to the imperial rank, he is allowed to change his status according to the official position, but no exceptions are allowed for foreign appointments.

This is to provide benefits to the officials in the capital. For a time, many officials in the capital submitted petitions to petition for their elders.

In fact, it can also be seen from this that most of the current Beijing officials come from official families, and the elders of many officials' families may have been officials.

After a hundred years of peace, the world's scholars have changed from poor scholars to bureaucratic families. Ordinary families have no ability to provide a Jinshi.

Only a few people with extraordinary talents can do it by virtue of their talent and intelligence.

This is the result of class consolidation. When such people become officials, they must not only consider their own and family interests, but also the national interests.

In their eyes, everything they get is given by their family, not by the court, and the court also needs them to herdsmen everywhere to stabilize the world.

If this kind of consciousness continues and develops to the end, it will naturally lead to the rise of powerful families and control of military power, thereby finding opportunities to complete a dynasty change.

But so far, this awareness is only in its infancy, and many officials are unaware of the eventual consequences.

After the Ministry of Personnel completed the three tasks after Yang Bo took office, Zhang Shouzhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, sent a memorial to the palace. He was quickly criticized. The next day, a decree was sent to summon Wang Guoguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing, to take over the Ministry of household affairs. The position of Shangshu.

With the change of ownership of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the new Minister of Household Affairs, Wang Guoguang, soon made a report when he took office. He said that the Jingu Department of the Ministry of Households was extremely cumbersome, with recruitment becoming more troublesome, treachery and fraud becoming more common, and the records becoming denser. In fact, They are mostly the same, but they cost a lot of money to create, and they are kept in a high cabinet without ever being seen. Today, the cabinet inscribes a grid-eye document book. After checking all the deficiencies, it is concise and can be kept. The rest will be returned to the province and eliminated.

According to Wang Guoguang's plan, twenty-two books of the Ministry of Revenue were merged and twenty-eight volumes were abolished. This reduced the number of books to fifty at once. This not only freed the officials of the Ministry of Household from the heavy work of creating books, but also the needs of the imperial court. All kinds of data will not be affected by this.

In the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng was in the room. Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang both carefully read the terms and conditions submitted by Wang Guoguang and agreed after a brief discussion.

Naturally, it is inconvenient for the cabinet to make decisions on matters concerning the Ministry of Household Affairs.

What's more, after the Ministry of Revenue does this, the actual work will not be affected, which is also a good thing.

As long as the work is not delayed, it is not up to the Minister in charge to decide what to do.

"Uncle, has the Ministry of Household Affairs not yet decided on the matter of shipping rice?"

After Wei Guangde discussed with the cabinet the abolition of the Ministry of Household Records, he asked about grain and sea transportation.

This matter has been brought to the Ministry of Household Affairs for some time, but because of Zhang Juzheng's change of attitude, Zhang Shouzhi planned to leave again, so naturally he didn't take it seriously and dragged his feet until now without a ministry meeting.

"The issue of grain transfer is very controversial in the Ministry of Revenue. There are supporters and opponents. The fight has not come to an end yet."

Zhang Juzheng said helplessly.

"Master Chief Assistant, I have read relevant documents regarding the shipping of grain by sea. Indeed, although shipping by sea is difficult, for grain transportation, the Yellow River has been flooded in recent years. The imperial court needs to master a channel to ensure that grain is transported to the capital. This is It is a major matter related to the stability of the Northland."

Lu Tiaoyang also expressed his attitude at this time. After analysis, he approved of grain shipping.

Although he still had concerns about transporting all or most of the grain to the capital by sea, he also knew that Wei Guangde had actually regressed and only asked the court to transport a portion of the grain by sea every year to ensure that the Caoshan government was familiar with the sea routes in preparation.

After all, even if the canals are set sail in advance every year in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Industry, the canal has such a large carrying capacity after all, and a large number of canals cannot cross the Huanghuai waterway at once. There is always a priority.

The canals at the front can naturally pass through before the flood season, while those at the back may still be blocked by floods.

When it comes to changing the sea, Zhang Juzheng is actually a little conflicted in his heart.

He is not a person who doesn't know the good and the bad. Shandong's attempts have actually shown that this matter is feasible, but as the first assistant, he needs to consider more things.

Not only is it a high-profile policy, but also canal transport interest groups have been lobbying for this matter recently, especially citing the canal soldiers and the livelihood of millions of people on both sides of the canal as reasons.

Zhang Juzheng understood that what they said was actually a threat to him.

Just think about it, if they deliberately caused harm, the huge number of damaged people on both sides of the canal would do something unspeakable, and in the end it would not be him, the chief minister, who would take the blame.

No matter what policy the court chooses, it is actually a double-edged sword. Some people will gain and some will lose. Their cabinet must weigh the pros and cons and make the so-called "correct" decision.

"I will talk to Ru Guan later and let him personally take charge of the matter and give an answer as soon as possible."

Zhang Juzheng had not thought about it. Although he had made an agreement with Wei Guangde about the matter, after all, he could not overstep his authority in matters involving the Ministry of Revenue. Interfering too deeply could easily make Wang Guoguang unhappy.

In fact, the so-called fear of partisanship is not that there is a unified mind within the party. Each party has its own demands. It is just that everyone is consistent in the general direction or gathers together for a common purpose.

Zhang Juzheng naturally relied on the relationship between Huguang's huge township party and his former mentor Xu Jie, especially the cooperative relationship with Shanxi Yang Bo.

But Wang Guoguang was from Shanxi, so he was naturally a direct descendant of Yang Bo. We only had a cooperative relationship, and it was not easy to directly boss Wang Guangyi around. Over time, it was easy to create acrimony, which was disadvantageous.

In fact, the most important reason why Zhang Juzheng is now able to dominate Wei Guangde in the court is that he has enough connections with people.

But officials from Huguang are already on par with Jiangxi officials, not to mention people from Shanxi and Nanzhili.

The current imperial court has long been different from the time when Yan Song was in power, when the court officials were half Jiangxi.

If Wei Guangde takes the position of first assistant.

Zhang Juzheng had only been around for such a long time, and he knew that this was absolutely impossible. Officials in Qi, Zhejiang and other places, as well as people in Huguang and Nanzhili, would never allow a second Yan Song to exist.

Yan Song had suppressed them for more than ten years.

It is not that there are people with outstanding talents in each province, but Yan Song turned a blind eye and only promoted officials from Jiangxi, which created a grand situation where nearly half of the people in Jiangxi were in the six departments at that time.

It is absolutely impossible to do it again.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng suddenly came up with an idea. Although Wei Guangde could not defeat him and take the position of chief assistant, he could also use his concern for shipping matters to let him fight with the people from Caosi.

"I'll tell you where Ru Guan is, but you should also contact the people under the Ministry of Revenue for Shandai.

As He Qing said, the matter of transporting grain by sea is related to the stability of the Northland and is a major matter. The Ministry of Household Affairs must not make any mistakes in the meeting.

Ru Guan also just joined the Ministry of Household Affairs. I was worried that he would not be able to control the situation and would make too many objections during ministry meetings. "

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde and said.

Of course Wei Guangde sneered at Zhang Juzheng's reasons.

Before Wang Guoguang went to Nanjing to become minister, he was the right minister of the Ministry of Hubu. He had also been an official in the Ministry of Hubu for a long time and had many acquaintances from top to bottom. He was not the new minister.

Even when Zhang Shouzhi was forced to put it on the shelves, he didn't quickly sort out the Hubu stall.

Wei Guangde had some guesses about Zhang Juzheng's intentions, but it was inconvenient to say more at this time, so he nodded, "I know about this. I will sit down with my colleagues from the Ministry of Revenue to discuss the matter of shipping grain." Son."

Wei Guangde was not familiar with the Household Department, but he also knew that if he wanted to be more stable, the Sixth Department still needed someone more or less.

I used to think that the household department was a quagmire, and I was worried about falling into it, but now that I am in my current position, no matter how much trouble there is, I still have to put my hand in it.

It seems that among the six departments, Wei Guangde has never reached out to the household department.

I was thinking about how to contact the people of the same year in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and let them make the connection with the people in the Ministry of Household Affairs.

After Zhang Juzheng came out of the room, Wei Guangde wrote a note and asked Lu Bu to take it out and give it to the servant outside, and take it back to his house to give it to Zhang Ji.

Tonight, Wei Guangde plans to invite the same year who is in the Ministry of Household Affairs in the mansion to find out what the situation is in the Ministry of Household Affairs, who supports the grain and sea transportation, and who is opposed to it, so that he can take targeted action.

Naturally, he had to deliberately win over the supporters. Anyway, he planned to reach out to the household department.

As for those who objected, Wei Guangde didn't intend to argue with them. If he couldn't agree, he would just find a way to transfer them.

Yang Bo expelled Gao Gong's people from the official department, but Wei Guangde's people who stayed in the official department are still there. In addition, the team that Yin Shizhen left behind have now joined him.

Of course, Wei Guangde would not fully believe these people. After all, most of them were officials from Shandong. The political arena in the late Ming Dynasty was mainly dominated by the Qi, Zhejiang and Chu parties. The Qi party was very powerful, which showed that the rise of Shandong officials was also very powerful.

Of course, Wei Guangde of the Donglin Party, who had the last laugh, also knew this. After all, "The Water Is Too Cold" was so famous that those people were really incompetent.

In the evening, after Wei Guangde sent away the same year who was on duty in the household department, he frowned and returned to the study to sit down and remained silent.

After Wang Guoguang took office at the Ministry of Revenue, he did not talk about his attitude towards shipping grains by sea. However, Guo Chaobin and Fu Yi, serving ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, had opposite attitudes. Guo Chaobin supported the shipping of grains, while Fu Yi was opposed to it.

Wei Guangde is not worried about Guo Chaobin. He is from Shandong himself, so he will naturally not object to shipping. You must know that people in Shandong are not afraid of so-called maritime risks, perhaps because of their proximity to the sea.

Those who oppose shipping are actually mostly from inland areas and are therefore fearful of the sea.

Of course, there are also those in coastal provinces who oppose shipping, but most of them are related to maritime merchants, since they involve their own business after all.

Fu Yi is one of them. He is from Shanxi and is a member of Yang Bo and Wang Guoguang. In fact, judging from logic, Wei Guangde thinks that perhaps Wang Guangguang himself does not support shipping.

"What a plan."

After a long time, Wei Guangde finally spoke and said three words from his mouth.

Wei Guangde had been sitting in the study for so long, thinking about this matter. Zhang Juzheng had an ambiguous attitude towards the Ministry of Household Affairs.

You know, Yang Bo has deep-rooted influence in the DPRK, but he still relies on Zhang Juzheng, and it is impossible for Zhang Juzheng to persuade the Shanxi Township Party.

However, Zhang Juzheng asked Wei Guangde to help him negotiate peace. Wei Guangde didn't understand it before, but now he understands it.

In addition to letting Wei Guangde come to attract the dissatisfaction of the Caobang, perhaps Shanxi also wanted to obtain some benefits from him.

It's just an exchange of interests.

When Wang Guoguang was transferred to Nanjing from the Minister of Household Affairs, Fu Yi took over Wang Guoguang's position. It couldn't be that he was interested in another official position and wanted Fu Yi to do it.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng can also be mentioned, but now the government and the public are dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng leading the Huguang, or Chu Party, and being very close to Shanxi.

If Zhang Juzheng initiated the promotion of Fu Yi, I am afraid that it would cause dissatisfaction among other officials, and then they would have opinions about Zhang Juzheng.

Just when Wei Guangde was looking for an opportunity to have a good talk with Wang Guangguang, the Ministry of Industry reported that the Zhaoling Mausoleum was completed and that the Daxing Emperor's Zi Palace could be moved into the mountain mausoleum on a selected day.

Immediately, the main work of the cabinet turned to work with the Ministry of Rites to determine the funeral matters, determine the remaining twenty-eight matters, and set the ceremonial notes and memorials respectively.

With so many delays, more than half a month has passed.

That day, when Zhang Juzheng was on duty in the cabinet, Wei Guangde was called again.

"Shandai, His Majesty has been on the throne for several months now. However, I only want to make changes to the court meeting."