prosperous age

Chapter 280 Chapter 279
The time has quietly arrived in August of the 36th year of Jiajing, and Wei Guangde has already known from Gao Gong and Yin Shizhen that Yu Wangfu has decided to push Jia Yingchun to compete for the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry.

Nanjing Hubu Shangshu competed for the position of Ministry of Industry Shangshu, which seemed a bit demeaning, but in fact the status of the northern and southern capitals was very different.

Jia Yingchun passed the inspection of Prince Yu's Mansion. At this time, he also knew that Prince Yu's Mansion was going to fight for him again, so he was naturally overjoyed.

In fact, Nanjing No. [-] is still quite lucrative, but the power is much smaller, and it is suppressed by the Beijing Ministry everywhere.

Just issuing Yanyin every year is enough for Jia Yingchun to live in extravagance in the south of the Yangtze River until he dies. In fact, he really doesn't care much about going to the capital, but if he can go to the capital to be a minister, it will be considered an honor to return to his hometown.

Jia Yingchun is from Zhending County, Zhending Prefecture, Northern Zhili, so naturally he will not give up this opportunity.

King Yu's mansion lacks the right to speak at the top of the court. In order to fight for this position, Gao Gong also obeyed King Yu's order and secretly entered Xu Jie's mansion to meet Xu Jie secretly.

The purpose is self-evident, it is to persuade Xu Jie to provide help in the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry.

In recent years, the Yan family has taken advantage of the opportunity of controlling the Ministry of Industry to make a lot of money in construction projects, but the quality of the projects is worrying.

Naturally, King Yu's Mansion also took a fancy to the key department of the Ministry of Industry. In fact, under the condition of ensuring the quality of the project, the money will not be less. This is why King Yu was worried about money in the past two years. All they want is to make money and fill their own internal treasury.

Regarding the request from Prince Yu's Mansion, Xu Jie didn't understand the situation at first, and he still couldn't believe it until he learned the truth.

Emperor Jiajing wanted to win Zhao Wenhua's position as Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, but this news did not spread in the court, and it was the first time he heard about it.

Naturally, Gao Gong would not reveal the source of the news, not to mention that Wei Guangde's news must have come from Da Nei, so he would not tell it when asked.

Xu Jie agreed with suspicion, but the experience of fighting in the court still played a role at this time.

"Suqing, you and I understand the role of the Ministry of Industry, and Weizhong will not be unaware of the things they have done using the Ministry of Industry over the years, and the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry, they will not easily give up, otherwise A lot of things will be exposed.”

When Xu Jie said this, he kept staring at Gao Gong, waiting for his response.

Gao Gong was reminded by Xu Jie, and quickly reacted.

At the beginning, they only considered that Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry was taken down, and naturally they wanted to fight for the vacated position.

But after hearing Xu Jie's words just now, Gao Gong understood the meaning of his words a little bit. The Yan family will not give up the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry, but it seems that there is something in the words.

"Old Xu Ge, please speak up if you have something to say."

Gao Gonggong cupped his hands and said to Xu Jie.

"If there is preparation there, the result of the fight is hard to say. If there is no preparation, then the most likely to take over the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry may be the other Shangshu in the Six Departments who will be transferred to the Ministry of Industry."

Xu Jie looked at Gao Gong with a smile on his face and said.

"Swap?"

Hearing Xu Jie say that the Yan family might move the positions of other ministers in the six books, and also keep the Ministry of Industry, he quickly calculated in his mind that the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of War have little to do with the Yan family, and they must not be moved by the Yan family.

The Yan family actually controlled the remaining three ministries, namely the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Punishment.

Now that the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry has been taken down, the Ministry of Officials will never move. Heavenly officials have the power to appoint and dismiss officials of the fourth rank and lower in the country. The possible adjustment of the Yan family is to replace the Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry with the Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment. In fact, such Ping Tiao is also the most likely to be recognized by Emperor Jiajing.

"It may be other ministries. It's hard to say, but as far as the current situation is concerned, the emperor is unlikely to nod in the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of War."

Among the six parts, members of the Yan family occupied three seats. This should be Emperor Jiajing's biggest statement of decentralization. It is impossible to say that Emperor Jiajing did not know about the relationship between the three people and the Yan family.

But still agreed to their appointment and removal, which also shows that he gave Yan Song enough power to keep the government running.

Therefore, in Xu Jie's view, it is not important to win the position of Shangshu, what is important is that the emperor's attitude towards the Yan family can be distinguished through this matter.

In fact, something like this happened, that is, the emperor would communicate with their cabinet in advance, and just discuss the transfer of personnel. When he mentioned the candidate, it didn't matter if the emperor nodded or not.

It's a good thing that people who are not Xu Jie can show his selfless side, not to mention that Xu Jie doesn't want to stand against the Yan family at this stage.

After forbearance for so long, he would not take any action until he saw the change in the emperor's attitude.

On the second day, Xu Jie went to the cabinet on a business errand, holding a copy of the impeachment memorial sent by Governor Xuanda in his hand, and worried.

The governor announced the military affairs of Shanxi, and Yang Bo, the right servant of the Ministry of War, impeached Wu Bin, the deputy envoy of Huailong's military preparations.

Xu Jie was worried because Wu Bin and Ren Xizu seemed to be recommended by Yan Shifan, and they probably spent a lot of money to buy officials, and they were already in August, and they were the ones when the grasslands were strong and strong after autumn. This is of course impossible when operating on a large scale.

Xu Jie didn't intend to write anything in this memorial, so he simply took the memorial and went to Yan Song's public house next door.

"Elder Ge was summoned to Xiyuan by the emperor early in the morning."

Yan Song was not seen, only Yan Shifan was in the house. From the scribe's mouth, Xu Jie knew that Yan Song was called away by Emperor Jiajing, so he had no choice but to go into the house to talk to Yan Shifan about it.

Xiyuan, in Yongshou Palace.

"Weizhong, I have already ordered the Ministry of Industry to rebuild the Yangmen Gate Tower. I went to see it yesterday, and the wood and stone materials for the gate tower are all ready. Why? What is the Ministry of Industry doing? What is Zhao Wenhua going to do?"

Emperor Jiajing asked in a serious tone.

After practicing, Emperor Jiajing always reminded himself to control his emotions, knowing that a bad mood would also affect his cultivation.

In the past two months, he has been suppressing his dissatisfaction. He just passed on word of mouth to urge the Ministry of Industry. He didn't want to pass by the Zhengyang Gate Tower yesterday. He sent someone to inquire and found out. Although the Ministry of Industry finally accepted the order, the materials have been delayed.

Yan Song heard that Emperor Jiajing's tone was not kind, but as a godson, he still had to keep it, at least until a new candidate was ready to take over.

But at this time, Yan Song also heard that Emperor Jiajing was quite dissatisfied with Zhao Wenhua. Maybe he could get away with it this time, but he still had to prepare a second move to be safe.

"The department is busy with official affairs, and now the wood and stone materials for the gatehouse have been prepared and collected. It is best to appoint a servant and a supervisor to take charge of it."

Yan Song thought about it and said: "Wenhua's illness due to the summer heat last year in the south seems to be cured within ten months. If the two servants are both poor and there is a shortage of people to manage the department, please ask the emperor to add a servant to assist him."

When Yan Song left Yongshou Palace, Emperor Jiajing just casually raised his eyes to look at Yan Song's back, and then closed his eyes to continue practicing.

When Yan Song returned to the cabinet and saw Yan Shifan, he briefly told Yan Shifan that he was Emperor Jiajing in Xiyuan, and Yan Shifan suddenly felt bad.

And Xu Jie next door naturally didn't know, just recently Emperor Jiajing finally couldn't bear it and planned to rectify the six departments.

In the past, Emperor Jiajing would summon the cabinet ministers to discuss important personnel appointments and dismissals such as the six ministers, but this time Yan Song seemed to be thinking of something before calling alone.

The next day, a memorial from the Ministry of Industry was sent to the Supervisor of Rites and sent to Yongshou Palace.

The Ministry of Industry invited Lei Li, the left servant of the Ministry of Industry, and Yuan Heng, the eunuch, to manage the construction of the Zhengyangmen tower.

The meaning was exactly the same as that of Yan Song yesterday, Emperor Jiajing was silent for a long time after listening to the following people read the memorial.

Naturally, Wei Guangde didn't know about the events of the first day, but when the Ministry of Industry wrote a letter to appoint a servant and a supervisor to take charge of the Zhengyangmen Tower project, he also found out about it through the rapid spread of know-it-alls. .

A know-it-all is naturally a clerk in a department, and if there is any trouble in the departments, it will quickly spread to all the yamen in Beijing.

Wei Guangde's throat was about to smoke because of Zhao Wenhua's affairs, and he has been delaying in seeing more.

Although Prince Yu's Mansion didn't ask any questions, Wei Guangde also knew that it was not a trivial matter to pass on the news, and he couldn't be careless.

The news that spread today finally made Wei Guangde feel that the wind was starting to blow.

In the afternoon, Wu Peng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, received a note from the palace to select a candidate for the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry.

Last night, he had already received the news from Yan Shifan, so he was naturally prepared.

In fact, in the news sent by Yan Shifan yesterday, there were recommended candidates, that is, Zuo Tongzheng Lu Xun and Yan Shifan himself.

Yan Shifan himself holds the title of Minister of the Ministry of Industry, but he does not work in the Ministry of Industry in name, but assists his father in handling cabinet affairs, but through Zhao Wenhua, he has already controlled the real power of the Ministry of Industry.

As for the Zuo Tongzheng Lu Xun, the chief envoy of the general administration, he is naturally also a member of the Yan family. Letting him leave the envoy of the general administration and enter the Ministry of Industry at this time can be regarded as a reward for his hard work over the years.

It doesn't matter who the emperor will choose, the important thing is that they should be prepared.

Once Zhao Wenhua loses power, they can still control the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry.

On the third day, Wu Peng, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, sent the selection list to Xiyuan. In the evening, news came out that Emperor Jiajing had appointed Lu Xun as the left servant of the Ministry of Industry.

Of course, Wei Guangde knew more details.

Regarding the selection of the Minister of Industry, Emperor Jiajing did not object to Yan Shifan's appointment, but at this time Yan Shifan was the left servant of the Ministry of Industry in charge of the Minister of Shangbao, so he chose Lu Xun after weighing it.

Although Yan Shifan is greedy for money, he is also famous for his talent. He is not only a crooked talent, he is quite familiar with the collection of classics and history, history, etc., and he is also a master of appraising treasures. "Ghost".

At least Emperor Jiajing was satisfied with Yan Shifan's talent, so he let him be in charge of Shangbao Supervisor, and naturally he didn't want him to be distracted from the work of the Ministry of Industry.

He gave the waiter a few liang of silver, and the waiter happily left, Wei Guangde got into the carriage that had been prepared, and he was about to go out.

What happened in Xiyuan in the past few days, and the affairs surrounding the Ministry of Industry, naturally, Prince Yu's Mansion also knew about it.

This afternoon, Gao Gong sent someone to invite him to the banquet in the evening, which is also a way of communicating with each other.

It was still the private room of the restaurant, and soon Wei Guangde learned about the information collected by Prince Yu's Mansion. This time, Emperor Jiajing did not summon Xu Jie, but only summoned Yan Song the day before the incident.

Wei Guangde already knew these things from Chen Ju before.

Wei Guangde's judgment was that Emperor Jiajing didn't seem to have figured out whether he wanted to cut the rights of the Yan family.

Emperor Jiajing has already felt that the maintenance of the government is becoming more and more difficult, mainly because of money.

Yan Song's financial management, in fact, is a set of tricks of moving from place to place, tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall. It can be fooled for a while, but it can't be maintained for a long time. There will always be a day when the game collapses.

What to do then?
What he needs now is to be able to increase income and reduce expenditure, and to be able to find new sources of income for the imperial court. Although the previous sea trade was okay, it was limited in scale after all.

Emperor Jiajing didn't like the large-scale development of maritime trade, and he always felt that it was wrong to sell a large number of products produced by Ming Dynasty, so that his people could not enjoy these products.

Therefore, in his heart, he always felt that the ancestral system was right.

"Before we thought that after Zhao Wenhua was taken down, we would publicly recommend the Ministry of Industry Minister, as long as Mr. Xu Ge can nominate Jia Yingchun, the rest is our business. Now it seems that we have miscalculated.

The emperor probably hasn't made a decision yet, we'd better not get involved, just wait for Elder Xu Ge's nomination. "

Candidates must be recommended by elders or officials, and it is unlikely that Emperor Jiajing has someone in mind.

"Guangde means"

Gao Gong looked at Wei Guangde in puzzlement and said.

Wei Guangde could only respond with a wry smile, and said lightly: "Old Yan Ge is ready."

Hearing this, Gao Gong, Li Fang and others in the room fell silent.

"Let's go with the flow, there's always a chance we do or do something before the dust settles."

Looking at the expressions on everyone's faces, Wei Guangde thought that after two or three months of planning and finally waiting for such a result, everyone would definitely feel uncomfortable, so he had to enlighten him, "At least Zhao Wenhua should be finished."

The next day Wei Guangde went to the Hanlin Academy to be on duty. Not long after, Lu Bu walked in quickly and whispered in Wei Guangde's ear: "The letter I just heard, Zhao Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry asked the minister of the Ministry of Industry to take over the seal of the Ministry temporarily, so as not to Delay the important affairs of the court."

Wei Guangde put down the book in his hand, sighed, and nodded slightly to show that he understood.

Lubu has already worshiped under Wei Guangde's door, not the previous subordinate relationship, but a master-servant relationship.

Zhao Wenhua's memorandum, how Emperor Jiajing will criticize it is very important, and will completely determine his fate.

But at this time, neither Wei Guangde nor Prince Yu's Mansion could do anything but wait for the result, even senior officials like Yan Song and Xu Jie couldn't influence it.

When I was on duty in the afternoon, Gao Gong sent someone to send a message that the cabinet Yan Song and Xu Jie had been summoned to Xiyuan.

At this time, in the Yongshou Palace, Yan Song and Xu Jie stood at His Royal Highness, Emperor Jiajing sat on the throne, and there was a memorial on the imperial book case in front of him.

"It's my intention to rebuild the Zhengyangmen tower. The tower is too dilapidated. Look at what Zhao Wenhua has done again. Push three things and block four things."

Emperor Jiajing looked at the two cabinet ministers of His Royal Highness, and his tone suddenly changed from flat to high-pitched: "Nowadays, great work is flourishing, and Sikong is his own job. Zhao Wenhua has a disease that makes him return home, so he can be promoted to be able to serve as Sikong." .”

(End of this chapter)