The Prosperous Era of Longwan

“Bang, bang, bang”

The crisp sound of cannons came from Wenhua Hall. The eunuchs and servants serving outside were no longer surprised and stayed quietly in their positions.

When the first cannon sounded, they rushed into Wenhua Hall nervously to check what happened.

However, they left the palace when they saw that it was the little emperor Wei Guangde who was playing with firecrackers.

Yes, it was not just Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun at this time. Almost everyone treated the things they were playing with as firecrackers.

Think about it, your majesty will have a birthday tomorrow. If the emperor likes to set off firecrackers, let him set them off. If the master is happy, their lives will be better.

However, most of the eunuchs and servants did not take it to heart, but it does not mean that no one noticed it.

When people were paying attention, several servants hurriedly left Wenhua Hall and trotted in different directions.

In the Silijian, Feng Bao was reviewing memorials at this time, and soon learned about the scene in Wenhua Hall from the little eunuch.

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"What, you said that Wei Ge Lao took the cannon's gadgets to set off firecrackers for His Majesty?"

As he spoke, Feng Bao's eyebrows were already frowning.

In theory, as a big companion of the little emperor, he should be like other eunuchs serving the emperor, trying to find some good things to present to the emperor and please His Majesty.

However, Feng Bao relied on Empress Dowager Li to get to the top, and he also experienced the results of Teng Xiang, Meng Chong and others trying to please Emperor Longqing.

Although Teng Xiang died of old age, others were more or less implicated, and their reputation was very bad.

Not only did the outer court say this about them, but in the palace, the two empress dowagers would not have anything good to say about these eunuchs who had tried their best to please the emperor and searched for beauties for the emperor everywhere.

Feng Bao knew very well how Emperor Longqing died. Wasn't it because of his excessive indulgence that he died so early?

Although in fact, Emperor Longqing was the longest-lived among the sons of Emperor Jiajing, it was a pity that no one noticed this.

But because Emperor Longqing really liked women, beautiful women, his death was considered by everyone to be the result of excessive indulgence.

With the lessons learned from the past, Feng Bao paid special attention to protecting his feathers, which was also what Zhang Juzheng often reminded him.

They could do some shameful things in private, but in front of the emperor, he had to put himself in the right position.

If the emperor was wrong, he had to persuade him. If he couldn't persuade him, he would tell Empress Dowager Li. Anyway, he packaged himself as a eunuch who abided by his duties.

In the eyes of Empress Dowager Li, he didn't think anything of his strictness towards the emperor. Instead, she thought he was loyal and worried that the little emperor would go astray, so he always followed the standards of a strict teacher and didn't worry that the emperor would be dissatisfied with him because of this.

For such a minister, Empress Dowager Li would naturally protect him. Even if someone in the court and the public criticized Feng Bao for being greedy, it was not a big deal in the eyes of Empress Dowager Li.

"Yes, I heard that it was the birthday gift given to His Majesty by Wei Ge Lao, the latest model of gunboat presented by the South China Sea Navy.

The gun they fired was on the model, which could be fired just like a real gun, and could also fire shells.

Now the emperor is having a lot of fun in Wenhua Hall, and every time he fired a gun, it was like setting off firecrackers outside."

The little eunuch bowed and answered hurriedly.

"Is there no lecture in Wenhua Hall today?"

Feng Bao asked again.

"No, but at the beginning Wei Guangde randomly checked what the emperor had learned before, asked the emperor to recite the three principles and eight items, and then expressed his own understanding.

After that, Wei Guangde praised the emperor and said that the emperor should apply the principles learned from the book to his words and deeds, and then."

The little eunuch simply told Feng Bao the whole process of what happened in Wenhua Hall today. Feng Bao thought about it and said, "You go back first, the miscellaneous people know about it, just serve there well."

After everyone left, Feng Bao thought about it, but still did not get up to report to the two empress dowagers in Ciqing Palace.

In his opinion, since it was Wei Guangde's doing, even if he reported it to the Queen Mother, it would not hurt Wei Guangde.

Moreover, although the gap between him and Wei Guangde was large and difficult to bridge, it was not to the point of fighting to the death. At least they maintained superficial harmony, and there was no need to make the relationship awkward because of such a small matter.

Zhang Juzheng seemed to be very satisfied with his cooperation with Wei Guangde in the cabinet.

"Forget it, tomorrow is the emperor's birthday, let him have a happy day."

Feng Bao thought to himself, and continued to read the memorial.

On the cabinet side, Zhang Juzheng also received the news in the duty room.

He had a good relationship with Feng Bao, and everyone in the palace knew it, so he asked his men to bribe some eunuchs in the palace to inquire about the news.

No one wanted to offend the prime minister of the dynasty, let alone the prime minister who had a good relationship with their boss.

If Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao had a tense relationship, they would still consider the issue of standing in line.

But now, there is no need to worry about this.

Zhang Juzheng did not dare to reach out to other palaces in the palace, but the cabinet and Wenhua Hall were different. He always paid close attention to the education of the young emperor.

In fact, although the recommended lecturers were selected by the Ministry of Rites, they all had to nod their heads, and they had some influence on the content of the lectures.

It can be said that all the courses of Emperor Wanli were arranged by Zhang Juzheng behind the scenes.

"This Shandai, not only did he not teach His Majesty well, but he also made this gunboat model and set off firecrackers in Wenhua Hall"

Zhang Juzheng murmured in his mouth and then shook his head. He was thinking about the same thing as Feng Bao.

His Majesty's birthday was tomorrow, and he didn't want to offend the little emperor, so he just pretended that he didn't know.

It was almost noon, today's lectures were over, and Wei Guangde had not assigned any homework.

"Your Majesty, go back and copy the book once, just to deepen your memory and understanding."

"Yes, Master Wei."

The little emperor immediately nodded and agreed.

Compared with "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius", both of which have more than 100,000 words, "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" have much fewer words, especially "The Great Learning" only has more than a thousand words, so copying "The Great Learning" is more difficult than copying other books. Simple.

Moreover, the homework was not handed in tomorrow, but had to wait ten days and a half before Wei Guangde's next class, so he had plenty of time to copy the books.

In fact, Wei Guangde's homework has always been the least among the officials, so the little emperor agreed so happily.

After enjoying the banquet given by the palace in the side hall, Wei Guangde returned to the cabinet and continued to deal with the memorials on his desk.

The court will have a holiday for three days from tomorrow, but this holiday has little to do with their cabinet, the Ministry of War and other key offices, and they all have to work overtime.

It's just that I have to delay another half day tomorrow morning to attend the Longevity Festival pilgrimage ceremony, so these two days seem a bit busy.

"Sir, Master Liu, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, wants to see you."

Just when Wei Guangde was busy with official duties at his desk, Lu Bu quickly came in from the outside and whispered in his ear.

"Liu Shouyou, what is he doing here?"

Wei Guangde just whispered, and then said: "Ask him to come in."

These days, I think there should be news from unknown sources.

Not long after, Wei Guangde saw Liu Shouyou at the check-in room.

After saluting, Liu Shouyou quickly explained his intention to him.

"From this we can be sure that Zhang Lian, who was beheaded by Fujian and Guangdong, was not himself. He fled to Old Port with his remnants, where he carved out a piece of territory and survived until his death last year."

After Liu Shouyou finished telling the information in a low voice, he looked at Wei Guangde's reaction.

"This matter should be kept secret or not publicized."

Wei Guangde thought for a while and then said: "In addition, the people sent over there should be sent to the capital as soon as possible. You will first interrogate them personally to find out their true purpose."

"Mr. Wei Ge, if the rebels really want to surrender, what should they do?"

Liu Shouyou asked in a low voice.

Judging from the information that Jinyiwei has found so far, the so-called remnants of the Feilong Kingdom are not having an easy time on Sumatra. The Bazhang Kingdom has been eyeing them. If it weren't for the Bazhang Kingdom, there would be a more powerful opponent, the Mata of East Java. In the Blue Kingdom, a fierce battle may have broken out long ago.

"Let's first determine their true intentions. Given their current situation, it seems to be a good thing if the Bazhang Kingdom can put more pressure on them."

Wei Guangde said casually.

It is also very dramatic to say that although the Feilong Kingdom had long planned to send representatives back to the Ming Dynasty to test the government's attitude, they were all frightened when they arrived. No one was willing to be such a representative.

When the representatives were finally selected and went to sea, they returned to the Ming Dynasty after all the hardships, but they did not dare to contact the government due to various concerns.

It can only be said that when the Ming Dynasty encircled and suppressed Zhang Lian's group of rebels, the noise was too great, and many of the captured rebels were publicly executed.

This is also a strategy adopted by the imperial court in order to appease the southeast region, which is to first frighten the local Xiaoxiao. Only by killing them can the stability of the southeast region be guaranteed.

After all, he had fled overseas for many years, so even when he returned to the Ming Dynasty, he was hiding in Tibet, and his behavior was very suspicious. However, he was noticed by Jinyiwei's spies, and then he was secretly captured by Fujian Jinyiwei Qianhu.

After all, people went back with the help of Ming merchant ships that plied Southeast Asia, so they disembarked at Yuegang.

"In addition, Jinyiwei will also strengthen its spying operations in Nanyang. Has the intelligence from Malacca that I asked about last time been sent back?"

Wei Guangde asked again casually.

"Mr. Wei Ge, the news has been sent out. I think I have some clues and it will be sent back soon."

Liu Shouyou didn't dare to vouch for it. After all, the people sent out were in the name of businessmen. It was unknown whether they would settle there. Now he could only delay for a while.

"What about Myanmar? Last time you sent a note saying that Laos had been defeated. Is the news confirmed?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

"It has been confirmed that the Lao Xuanwei Division was indeed breached, so I was the one to break it."

Liu Shouyou quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered carefully.

"The official document from Yunnan was delivered to the capital two days ago. You should know it."

Wei Guangde said immediately.

Liu Shou answered the question, but his head hung down.

"Let the Yunnan side check whether the Yunnan governor knows about this matter, whether it is related to Myanmar, whether he was deceived or something."

Wei Guangde ordered.

"Yes, I will immediately send someone to investigate the matter."

Liu Shouyou answered quickly this time and immediately answered with cupped fists.

Just two days ago, Yunnan Chengxuan's political envoy reported to the Secretary, and requested three announcements and six consolations to report on their duties. All ministries said that everything was fine.

Well, the imperial court already knew that the southwest was in a state of chaos, and many Xuanwei divisions had been conquered by the Toungoo dynasty, but the Yunnan side was still safe and sound, which made Wei Guangde have to wonder whether the Yunnan side was covering the lid. , worried about being punished, but was indeed deceived.

"Did you send the note from last time to the Governor's Mansion of the Right Army?"

When Liu Shouyou was saying goodbye and preparing to go out, Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

Liu Shouyou, who was standing at the door, immediately returned to the house and told him that the information had been sent to Li Chengliang.

"Go and do your work. If there is any news, please notify me in time."

Wei Guangde just said something.

Calculating the time, Li Chengliang should have figured out the situation in the southwest, but I don't know whether he will come here before the Longevity Festival or later.

After the others left, Wei Guangde sighed to the sky. It was inevitable to use troops against Myanmar. It was obvious that the situation there was out of control.

Although Wei Guangde seems to have been babbling, wanting to launch a war against this pair, in fact, through later generations, he naturally knows the cruelty of war, and he wonders how many good men of the Ming Dynasty will die in "foreign lands" because of this.

If the Toungoo dynasty in Myanmar could repent and surrender to the Ming Dynasty at this time, Wei Guangde would still choose to slowly transform it instead of directly using troops to encircle and suppress it.

He only remembered that a war broke out between Burma and the Qing Dynasty, but he did not know that there was actually a war during the Wanli period, and the scale was quite large.

Therefore, at this time, in Wei Guangde's heart, he felt as if the Ming-Burma War was caused by his thoughts, and it was inevitable that he felt guilty.

Not long after Liu Shouyou left, Lu Bu came in and reported that Tan Lun, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Li Chengliang, the left governor of the Right Army Governor's Mansion, had arrived.

"Invite them in."

Wei Guangde had to put down the memorial in his hand again and came out to greet him.

After the three of them sat down, Tan Lun handed Wei Guangde an official document, which was an official document from the Right Army Governor's Office to provoke people.

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army no longer has the right to mobilize troops, and even personnel rights have been usurped by the Ministry of War.

Li Chengliang, the left commander of the right army governor's office, gave orders to the lower guard, which had to go through the Ministry of War. The governor's office only had the responsibility of garrison.

"Has the Ministry of War verified it?"

Wei Guangde quickly read the official document and just looked at Tan Lun and asked.

"I've seen it, and I can implement it according to this strategy."

Tan Lun opened his mouth to express the opinion of the Ministry of War, apparently agreeing with Li Chengliang's plan to mobilize troops.

"Okay, Commander Li, I'll follow your plan. After the festival, I'll send someone to supervise. You can set out to patrol the border later."

After Wei Guangde finished speaking to Li Chengliang, he turned to Tan Lun and said, "Brother Zili, when the time comes, the Ministry of War will allocate 100,000 taels of silver treasure to be brought to Governor Li as the starting silver. Is that okay?"

"Already prepared."

Tan Lun smiled and replied, "It's just Jin Yiwei's information. Is it true and credible?"

Finally, Tan Lun put away his smile and said seriously.

"It should be true."

Wei Guangde sighed: "What's the point of lying about this matter?

I understand that you are worried about Yunnan. I have asked Jin Yiwei to check whether Yunnan officials are involved.

There are some things that we can turn a blind eye to, but they are related to border security and cannot be muddled through.

In this regard, the first assistant also has the same attitude.

Let the Jin Yiwei find out and then discuss their official hats. "

After Wei Guangde received the official document from Jinyiwei and Yunnan the day before yesterday, he discussed with Zhang Juzheng that the governor and chief envoy of Yunnan would have to be replaced.

He is so incompetent that he can make such a big mistake.