The Prosperous Era of Longwan

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The sky in the capital is dark, but in the ancient city, stars have been lit up, and many people have gotten up and started to prepare for the new day.

It is only the hour of Chou now. For ordinary people, they are still sleeping in their warm beds at this time, but for officials of the Ming Dynasty, they have to leave there at this time, get up and start washing and preparing for today's court meeting.

Fortunately, since the Zhengde period, the emperor seems to have developed the habit of not attending the morning court. The subsequent Emperor Jiajing has not attended the court for many years, and even rarely appeared in front of the court officials.

Emperor Longqing was slightly better, but he only persisted for two years, and then he stopped attending the regular court and only appeared at the grand court meeting.

This habit was also maintained until the Wanli period.

After all, Emperor Wanli was young, and it was good enough to show up on the first and fifteenth of every month.

Moreover, although the court officials could not see the emperor, the lecturers of the cabinet and the Hanlin Academy could still see the emperor in the Wenhua Hall every day. Except for the day of the grand court meeting, they had to study with the teacher at other times.

Although the censors of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice still complained privately about the current court meeting system, everyone knew that it was the best now.

No need to get up before dawn every day to attend the court meeting and complete all the procedures, but in fact nothing was done.

When it was time to go to work at dawn, they were hungry and had to find a place to get some food to fill their stomachs.

The court meeting was really a hard job.

Soon, sedan chairs appeared on East and West Chang'an Street, and some military officers rode horses to attend the court.

The family members held lanterns in front and behind, and soon gathered into a long dragon.

Not far from the imperial city, the sedan chairs gradually stopped, and the officials got off the cars and sedan chairs and walked to Chengtian Gate.

When they met familiar officials on the road, they inevitably walked together and chatted in a low voice.

After passing through Chengtian Gate, all the officials in Beijing soon gathered outside Wumen, waiting for the palace gate to open.

A court room was built at the corner of the palace gate for officials to rest and wait for the court.

Of course, only high-ranking officials could enter the court room, and officials below the fifth rank had no chance to enter and rest.

The court room closest to the palace gate naturally belonged to the cabinet, and Wei Guangde and Lu Diaoyang were already inside.

They separated late, and everyone had not rested well that night. It was inevitable that they were a little sleepy at this moment, and they dozed off after a few greetings.

After a while, the door opened and Zhang Juzheng walked in.

"You two."

He was polite out of habit, but he saw that both of them were squinting and dozing off on the back of the chair, so Zhang Juzheng hurriedly shut up.

But after all, it was a court session, and the two were actually just taking a nap, and it was impossible for them to fall asleep, so they opened their eyes one after another, and saw that it was Zhang Juzheng who came, and they all stood up and greeted him.

Zhang Juzheng sat down and said, "If you two are sleepy, take a nap."

"Close your eyes and rest, how can you stay here, hehe."

Wei Guangde smiled faintly.

"Hehe."

Lü Diaoyang laughed twice, and then heard Zhang Juzheng say, "I came a little late, and saw Li Chengliang waiting outside."

"He didn't become the commander-in-chief of the Five Armies"

Lü Diaoyang stopped talking after saying half a sentence, thinking that although he had been arranged to take charge of the Right Army Commander's Office, the news didn't seem to be spread widely, and he might not know it yet.

Wei Guangde just glanced at Zhang Juzheng, and he knew what Zhang Juzheng meant.

Although he had some complaints about Wei Guangde's arrangement for Li Chengliang to return to Beijing, after all, he was in charge of the Ministry of War, so Zhang Juzheng didn't say much.

"I'll talk to him when I get down."

Wei Guangde said.

I was originally planning to find an opportunity to make a fuss with Li Chengliang, and it was just right to say it.

Not long after, an eunuch came in to inform that it was almost time.

The three of them left the court room, and other officials also came out of the court room one after another, gathering outside the Meridian Gate and standing in line according to their ranks.

Today, the civil service queue did not change much, except that there was an additional Li Chengliang in the front row of the military officer queue, and his son Li Rusong was not qualified to attend the court because of his low rank.

I don't know if he is resting at the post station or waiting outside Chengtian Gate.

Soon, the eunuchs of the Bell and Drum Department rang the court bell and drum. When the third drum sounded, the east and west gates were opened first, and the officials, military flags and schools were allowed to enter and line up first. All officials still lined up in order in front of the side gate, and waited until the bell rang before opening the door to enter.

After the court bell rang, the left and right side gates were opened, and all officials entered in order according to their ranks.

The officials began to enter the palace, with civil officials entering from the left side gate and military officials entering from the right side gate. They were first arranged in order according to their ranks south of the Jinshui Bridge.

After the whip was blown, they crossed the bridge in turn and arrived at the Danchi of Huangji Gate. Civil officials were on the left and military officials were on the right. They stood on the two sides of the imperial road facing each other.

Outside the neatly arranged team of officials, there were imperial censors responsible for inspection to supervise. Anyone who coughed, spitted, crowded or had a disorderly manner would be recorded and waited for processing.

In the middle of the upper corridor of Huangji Gate, there was a throne called "Golden Platform". On the left and right of the steps were the bands of the bell and drum department. Between the steps of the palace, there were "generals of the Han Dynasty" wearing full uniforms and armor. On the left and right of the imperial road and behind the civil and military officials, there were lieutenants holding swords.

The bell and drum department played music, and the emperor arrived at the imperial gate. The Jinyiwei strongmen held five umbrellas and four round fans, climbed onto the Danchi from the east and west sides, and stood on the left and right behind the throne.

There were two eunuchs, one holding an umbrella and standing on the seat, and the other holding "military equipment" and two fans, standing in the middle behind the seat.

Emperor Wanli soon sat on the throne. The whip was blown again under the tower. The Honglu Temple "sang" to enter the class. The civil and military classes on the left and right walked into the imperial road side by side. At this time, the civil officials "faced north and west" and the military officials "faced north and east", performing the ceremony of bowing and knocking three times.

The dukes, the princes-in-law, and the earls formed their own class of honors and relatives, standing in front of the military class and slightly away.

Today's procedure had been informed long ago, so after all the officials saluted, the young emperor Zhu Yijun waved his hand and asked the eunuchs beside him to continue.

"If there is something, stand up and report it. If there is nothing, leave the court."

The sharp voice of the eunuch standing next to the young emperor on the tower echoed in the field.

In the court meeting of the Ming Dynasty, officials did not stand up directly when they really had something to report. In fact, they would report to the Honglu Temple a day in advance, and what they wanted to report would be reported. The officials of the Honglu Temple would sort by the reasons reported by the ministers and let them go out one by one to report.

However, the first thing to do at every court meeting is for the officials of the Honglu Temple to report to the emperor the officials who came to Beijing to express their gratitude and leave Beijing to resign.

These people also reported to the Honglu Temple one day in advance. If the emperor wanted to summon them, they would first go to the palace to meet him; if the emperor did not want to see them, they would perform the five bows and three kowtows in the courtyard or outside the Meridian Gate, and the ceremony would be completed.

Now the emperor is young, and all matters, big and small, are handed over to the cabinet, so the officials of the Honglu Temple just reported the number of people and withdrew.

Then, the Minister of War Tan Lun made a report, which was actually about the ceremony of surrendering prisoners yesterday, and requested to reward the meritorious soldiers.

"I have read the report from the Ministry of War. Rewarding merits and punishing people is the court's custom. Now that the rebel chieftain has been executed, it is natural to reward the meritorious soldiers."

A tender child's voice sounded at the Huangji Gate, "Announce the decree."

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees that the rebel chieftain Wang Gao lured and killed our deputy general Pei Chengzu and others. The governor Zhang Xueyan and the general Li Chengliang marched forward and took advantage of the victory to attack directly. Li Chengliang was appointed the left governor of the Right Army Governor's Office and was in charge of the government affairs."

Before the eunuch announced the decree, Li Chengliang, who was in the military ranks, had already stepped out of the ranks and knelt down at the gate. He was very happy, but he was also curious about what reward the court would give him this time.

Originally, according to the decree, it should be Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong, or Liu Tai, the Liaodong inspector, who escorted Wang Gao to Beijing, but the capital specifically asked him to go to Beijing, so Li Chengliang was very curious.

However, his happy face changed color instantly after hearing that he was allowed to enter the Right Army Governor's Office to take charge of the government affairs.

Although becoming the Left Commander-in-Chief was the highest military position in the Ming Dynasty, it was not a good thing for him to stay in the capital.

It was not that he had a rebellious heart. Rebelling in the Ming Dynasty at this time was no different from an old man eating arsenic. At a very early time, because of the troubles of succession, Li Chengliang had already made up his mind to strive to leave a better few pages for the Li family, that is, to be a marquis and a prime minister.

Of course, because of the different paths of civil and military, it is impossible to be a prime minister now. Only in the previous dynasty did there exist the saying of "getting on the horse to govern the army and getting off the horse to govern the people". What he wanted was nothing more than a marquis.

Only by becoming a member of the nobles can there be a chance to keep the Li family prosperous.

Yes, during the years of succession in the capital, he saw the pomp of the nobles in the capital. Although their power was weakened, they were still a force that could not be ignored in the court.

Especially the emperor, who still trusted the nobles and these nobles who shared the same fate with the country.

Look at the command of the Beijing camp and the palace, they are all in the hands of the nobles. Even if there are civil officials and military officials, the power is actually in the hands of the nobles.

If you can't go to the border town, you can't make merit. Military generals who can't make merit have no chance to be granted a title.

To be granted a title, you must have military merit. Otherwise, even if he becomes the left governor today, what about him later?

After the decree was read, Li Chengliang still knelt there, and there was no movement.

An official from the Honglu Temple on the side carefully reminded him in his ear: "Governor Li, it's time to thank the emperor."

Hearing this, Li Chengliang woke up as if from a dream, sorted out the loss in his heart, and knelt down to thank the emperor Wanli on the top of the city.

After returning to the ranks of military generals, he noticed that many people in the noble class in front of him were looking at him sideways.

After all, Li Chengliang served as the left governor of the Five Military Governor's Office. Although there is not much to do in the Governor's Office now, it occupies a position after all, and it is still a very important position. This means that their group of nobles have lost an official position, so naturally they will not look good to him.

At the beginning, many nobles wanted to compete for this position. Who would have thought that it would end up in the hands of this border general.

He is still a border general with no backing in the capital.

The nobles looked at Li Chengliang unkindly, and the military officers behind Li Chengliang also subconsciously moved away from him.

Before entering the palace, these people were still brothers with him and had a very pleasant chat.

In just a moment, the change was huge.

It can be seen that the official position given to him by the court seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest, which was a big trouble.

It also made Li Chengliang more convinced that the influence of the nobles in the military group in the court was greater than he imagined.

Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in front were just paying attention to this side coldly, and no one spoke.

There was nothing to do in the court meeting today. The top priority today was to announce the decree to reward Li Chengliang and a group of Liaodong generals.

After the decree was read, there was naturally no need to continue, and the court meeting soon dispersed.

The officials walked out in twos and threes, going back to their respective yamen.

Li Chengliang followed the military officers and walked out.

Although the decree had been issued, he knew that it was difficult to change anything.

"Alas."

With a long sigh in his heart, Li Chengliang looked around, trying to find the Minister of War, Tan Lun.

Now the imperial edict is for him to stay in Beijing and take charge of the Right Army Commandery, but before that he has to go to the Ministry of War again to receive the official uniform and imperial edict before he can take office. This is the rule.

Just when he saw Tan Lun and was about to walk over, several eunuchs in front of him had already come over here, stopped in front of Tan Lun, Wang Guoguang and Zhu Heng, and whispered a few words.

Among the three, Zhu Heng and Tan Lun were together, talking and laughing as they walked out, while Wang Guoguang was on the other side, talking to other officials.

After the eunuch summoned them, the three said goodbye to their colleagues around them, and then looked at Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Lu Diaoyang who were walking behind them.

Although they didn't know what the cabinet was summoning, they also knew that it must be a big deal.

The three ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works couldn't help but look at each other.

"Gentlemen, there is an important matter to discuss today, let's all go to the cabinet to talk."

Wei Guangde stretched out his hand and clasped his fists, saying to the three of them.

The three immediately returned the greeting, and then the six of them walked towards the cabinet together.

This made Li Chengliang, who had been waiting on the side and was about to go up to greet Tan Lun, still depressed.

Seeing that all the officials around him had already left Huangji Gate and went out of Wumen, he had no choice but to follow them out quickly.

When he left Wumen, Li Chengliang found that something seemed wrong outside.

Because many officials who should have dispersed were still gathering in groups of three or five outside Wumen, their eyes kept glancing inside Wumen.

Li Chengliang looked back in surprise and saw that Tan Lun, Zhu Heng and Wang Guoguang, who were supposed to leave Wumen, followed Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, three cabinet ministers, to Huiji Gate in the east and went to the cabinet.

This was Li Chengliang's first time in the Forbidden City, but he also took care of the officials and eunuchs sent by the Ministry of Rites and the inner court to teach etiquette, so he was not clear about the situation in the harem, but he still understood the situation in the front.

Obviously, Tan Lun was called to the cabinet to discuss important matters, and the officials outside Wumen were actually observing the six adults and judging the situation in the court.

Cabinet ministers.

Li Chengliang felt a headache just thinking about it. They were all high-ranking adults, but he couldn't get in touch with them.

Thinking of this, Li Chengliang couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Qi Jiguang who stayed in Liaodong, and contacted him through Tan Lun and Wei Guangde, the second assistant of the cabinet.

This time he was left in the capital, and Qi Jiguang, the general of Jizhen, might be the one who took over Liaodong.

This is not just a matter of official position change, but also a proof that he is not trusted by the cabinet ministers.

The importance of Jizhen is the head of the nine frontiers. Such an important position was vacated and went to Liaodong. Thinking about it, Li Chengliang couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

Many of the things he did in Liaodong were not presentable.

In fact, what he feared most was that the court would move the tiger away from the mountain and settle accounts with him.

Li Chengliang left Chengtian Gate with a nervous mood and soon met with his son Li Rusong.

"Dad, what reward did the court give you? Why are you so depressed?"

Li Chengliang's mood was fully reflected on his face, without the slightest joy of being conferred.

Li Chengliang told him about the imperial reward. When he heard that his father would stay in the capital to take charge of the Right Army Commandery, Li Rusong smiled and said, "Dad, this is good news. We can finally leave the bitter cold land of Liaodong."

Li Chengliang just looked back at his son and said with regret, "Without Liaodong, how can you achieve success and be crowned as a noble or a prime minister? You are so foolish."