prosperous age

Chapter 282 Chapter 281
"How long has Dongyang been to Nanjing?"

After Emperor Jiajing finished asking Yan Song, he asked Xu Jie who was beside him.

"It's been four or five years."

Xu Jie hurriedly bowed and replied.

"This person still has abilities, and he has stayed in Nanjing long enough."

Speaking of this, Emperor Jiajing paused for a moment, as if he had made a final decision, and then said: "The Minister of the Strike Department, Zhao Wenhua, returned to his hometown, and Ouyang Bijin, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, will be the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. Jia Yingchun will be the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and there is no need to discuss it again." gone."

After listening to Emperor Jiajing's arrangement, although Yan Song's eyes leaked a little disappointment, it was very subtle and no one noticed, but Xu Jie's eyes flashed brightly.

In the past, half of the seats in the Six Departments were occupied by Yan Song's party members. Although the importance of the Ministry of Punishment was not great, it was still an official position.

"Tell Ouyang Bijin that the main errands of the Ministry of Industry are the three main halls, the palace gate, and the Zhengyangmen gate tower. The servant Lei Li and the eunuch Yuan Heng are in charge of the construction. The project is huge, and Zheng Guobin and Yushi Song Yiwang will be sent to supervise it .”

Although under the supervision of the eunuchs in the palace, Emperor Jiajing was still very worried when he was quarreled by the Ministry of Industry this time, and arranged for Qingliu like Shizhong and Yushi to supervise the progress of the project.

After making such an arrangement, Emperor Jiajing was finally relieved.

After Yan Song and Xu Jie resigned and left Yongshou Palace, Emperor Jiajing turned his head and told Huang Jin: "Send a message to Donghu, and find out what you said the day before yesterday without delay."

"Yes."

Huang Jin agreed with a low eyebrow. Although Yan Song was polite when he saw him, and Zhao Wenhua often gave him money when he saw opportunities, the words that Emperor Jiajing ordered just now actually put Zhao Wenhua to death.

A few days ago, perhaps because of something, Lu Bingmi, the governor of Zuo and the commander of Jinyiwei, impeached Zhao Wenhua, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, for his meritorious deeds in redeeming Jiangnan's goods and ruining the people.

In fact, what Zhao Wenhua is suing is that during the two years ago when Zhao Wenhua went to Zhejiang and Fujian to command the suppression of the Japanese, he bought and sold things in Jiangnan by force. This incident caused dissatisfaction among the officers and men of the lower guards.

Seeing Lu Bing's memorial, Emperor Jiajing was angry.

Redempting goods and harming the people is aimed at the locality, but it is different to seize the credit of the generals and officials of the guard.

The Weisuo was the foundation of old Zhu's family's rule. As the emperor, he was naturally aware of the problems of the Weisuo, so he couldn't easily intervene.

After all, there are generals and soldiers in the guards who have made great contributions, but the main credits and rewards have been taken by you, Zhao Wenhua, and the impact will be very bad in the long run.

The reason why the coastal guards are using their lives in the war against the Japanese now is largely due to Hu Zongxian’s ever-increasing rewards. A real Japanese head is worth a lot, and most of this money comes from the extra localities, which should have been money from the court.

In recent years, most of the wealth in the south of the Yangtze River has been kept in the south of the Yangtze River to suppress the Japanese, and the amount of goods transferred to Beijing has dropped sharply, which is also one of the reasons for the serious deficit of the imperial court's finances.

Immediately, Emperor Jiajing strictly ordered Lu Bing to check the details and play.

Now, he needs the results of Lu Bing's detailed investigation.

In fact, even Huang Jin has heard about these things. After all, the imperial court still has a large number of guarding eunuchs and middle officials in the south of the Yangtze River. Gather local intelligence.

It's just that the inner court will not take the initiative to report the matter of the outer court before the emperor asks.

Because once the inner court files a letter to impeach the civil servants of the outer court, it will easily turn into a struggle between the inner court and the outer court, causing turmoil in the court.

As long as there is no crisis of imperial power, the eunuchs will choose to turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye, and some palace officials stationed in the place will even take a share of it. They will only consider whether to inform them when they show signs of rebellion.

As the saying goes, "the wall is falling and everyone is pushing it" is very reasonable. When Zhao Wenhua gained power, these things happened and no one reported them.

When something happened, Jin Yiwei took the initiative to inform. After Zhao Wenhua's crimes were made public, Qingliu in the imperial court would file letters of impeachment one after another. At that time, even if it was useless for Yan Ge to control the General Secretary, it would be difficult to stop the world. Everyone speaks.

Soon, the news of Zhao Wenhua leaving his job and returning to his hometown to recuperate was completely spread, and the news of the replacement of the official position also spread.

After Zhao Wenhua's resignation, the Minister of Industry was replaced by Ouyang Bijin, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and the vacated position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment was transferred to Jia Yingchun, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.

After Prince Yu's Mansion got the news, everyone in the mansion naturally cheered. They finally won a title of minister, and Prince Yu's Mansion was no longer isolated and helpless in the court.

In a flower hall in Prince Yu's mansion, King Yu, Gao Gong and other officials of the palace were present. They sat down after congratulating each other, and gradually calmed down their excited mood.

"My lord, Wei Guangde is responsible for this matter. If he hadn't discovered the clues in advance, the incident of Zhao Wenhua broke out in just a few days, and we have no time to make plans."

Gao Gong said to King Yu with a smile on his face.

"Yes, yes, the teacher is right. If he hadn't known that Zhao Wenhua had lost power with his father, this king would never have thought that his father would replace him directly and let him return to his hometown to recuperate. He thought he would send an imperial doctor. Give medicine as a sign of favor."

Speaking of this, King Yu shook his head with emotion, expressing his feelings at this time.

"He is not an official of the royal family, so it is inconvenient to come to my king's place. When he comes down, he will invite the teacher to host a banquet to thank him. Don't let people feel that we are slow."

King Yu continued to say to Gao Gong, "Actually, this king really wants to meet this Chuanlu."

"Hehe, there will be plenty of time in the future, don't be in a hurry."

Gao Gong laughed.

By this time, the outer court still didn't know that Zhao Wenhua could no longer return to his hometown, and his fate had already been ruled by Emperor Jiajing.

Naturally, Wei Guangde didn't know about it, he was just surprised that two ministers had been appointed in one push, when did the efficiency of the court become so efficient.

Wei Guangde also did not expect that he would not be able to seize the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, but he would get an official position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment.

Well, they are both Genuine Second Grade, but there is not much difference, anyway, they are all high-level people in the imperial court, the type of people who have the right to speak.

When can I compete for such a position?
Wei Guangde was no longer in the mood to read at the moment, he propped his arms on the desk and supported his head, just thinking about it.

In the evening, Wei Guangde went to the restaurant again. Gao Gong, Li Fang and other high-level executives of King Yu's Mansion were all there. The only difference was that His Royal Highness King Yu didn't show up in person.

The salary was already very high, and Wei Guangde didn't dare to see King Yu at this time, he knew that King Yiwei, Dongchang, and even spies from King Jing's mansion must be watching his every move by King Yu's side.

Although Wei Guangde made up his mind to lean towards Prince Yu's mansion at this moment, he didn't want to make his position public before the battle for the throne was settled.

As for being close to Prince Yu's Mansion and alienating Prince Jing's Mansion, naturally it can only be a matter of the ancestral system, anyway, he just doesn't want more people to know his established position.

After the banquet was over, Wei Guangde returned home drunk, and Zhang Ji sent him a sobering soup and a letter from home along the way.

"From Jiujiang?"

Wei Guangde was a little strange. He took the envelope and opened it, took out the letter paper and read it. After a while, the expression on his face brightened.

"It's the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month, so there are still more than three months left."

After reading the letter, Wei Guangde smacked his lips, folded the letter paper and put it back in the envelope.

This matter has to be written and reported to Emperor Jiajing, which is very troublesome, and it is indeed too involved compared with the market outlook.

Think about it, if an official from the sixth grade asks for personal leave, he has to give a memorial to the emperor. How many officials are there in the world, can the emperor see it?

The official holidays of the Ming Dynasty mainly included official leave, grant leave, sick leave and personal leave.

The first three types of holidays are easy to understand. Periodic holidays are holidays set by the imperial court. It depends on the emperor’s mood to grant holidays. Of course, there are also court holidays brought about by special reasons. As for sick leave, there is no way to do it if you fall ill. work.

As for personal leave, all kinds of things that need to delay time are included in it, but the main ones are weddings and funerals, and the court also has regulations.

But what Wei Guangde is worried about now is that he is going back to his hometown to get married, and this matter has to be written as a memorial and reported to Emperor Jiajing for imperial approval. Thinking about it, he feels awkward.

Yes, there is nothing else in the family letter from the family this time, the only statement is that Wei Guangde will go to Nanjing on the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month to welcome his relatives, and then bring the bride back to Jiujiang to get married.

This marriage leave, excluding the time spent on the round trip according to the system, can stay at home for a full two months.

Wei Guangde silently calculated the itinerary again, leaving Beijing to return to the south in October, he should be able to catch the last passenger ship going south to return home before the canal was frozen and suspended.

Whether to meet Xu Bangrui first when passing through Nanjing, as for meeting Xu Jianglan first, Wei Guangde dare not think about it.

Etiquette is very important these days. Except for occasional encounters in special circumstances, husband and wife cannot meet in advance. In ancient times, blind dates were actually sneak peeps. It’s not like now when the time and place are determined, and the two parties get together. See you for a phone number when you have a meal.

Forget it, now that he is drunk, Wei Guangde doesn't think about it, he sleeps first, and then he has some time to worry about how to write this memorial.

On the second day, the cabinet drafted an order and sent it to the Supervisor of Rites for approval, and sent it to the Sixth Section early in the morning. The personnel changes of the court officials were pushed by the Ministry, and the Sixth Section naturally passed without any hindrance. , stamped and printed, issued the decree.

Just when everyone thought that the drama surrounding the Ministry of Industry was over, a bigger disturbance came quietly.

Wei Guangde was a little slow when he received the news from Chen Ju. Before Emperor Jiajing chose to send Zhao Wenhua away, the only one who knew about this matter was Lu Bing, the eunuch who stayed by the emperor's side and waited on him. Even the former eunuch Chen Ju didn't know about it until Lu Bing presented evidence of Zhao Wenhua's embezzlement and perversion of the law.

Taking time out, he hastily arranged for his godson to send news to Wei Guangde.

Hearing that Jin Yiwei had delivered the evidence of Zhao Wenhua's crime to Yuqian, Wei Guangde blinked and let Zhang Ji give a reward to the servant before he smacked his lips.

I have no grievances with Zhao Wenhua, and Zhao Wenhua's greed for merit has not been greedy for himself, so let's forget it.

Anyway, Zhao Wenhua is Yan Song's godson. At this time, he came out and played Zhao Wenhua's book. I don't know what Yan Song, Yan Shifan and his son will think, although it seems that the relationship between the two of them has broken down.

Wei Guangde didn't intend to get involved, but there were plenty of civil and military people in the Manchu Dynasty who wanted to get involved.

Almost as soon as the news spread to the outer court, the General Secretary of the General Administration became busy, and the imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was the first to react.

When the news came out, it was also said by the way that Jin Yiwei had collected a lot of Zhao Wenhua's criminal evidence, and they didn't need any evidence for the censor to file a complaint.

They had to think about it before, but now there is no need for it.

A piece of impeachment memorial flew into the palace like snowflakes, and in just two days, it was already full of Emperor Jiajing's imperial letters.

"Don't read it anymore. In the future, throw away such things and don't send them over."

Emperor Jiajing looked at the memorials piled up with imperial cases, and said very impatiently.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Gao Zhong hastily signaled to the two servants behind him to take away all the memorials on the imperial book table, His Majesty was very upset.

Thinking about it, so many people know about Zhao Wenhua's deeds, but no one has played it before, so now it's time to catch up.

"Remember all the people who presented the impeachment memorial, I want to see the list."

Seeing the two servants tidying up the memorial in a hurry, Emperor Jiajing gave an order in a bad mood. He felt that he was always angry these days, and it seemed that his skills were showing signs of regression, so he couldn't help but become even more annoyed.

"Decree that the cabinet plans to recruit, and dismiss all official positions of Zhao Wenhua."

The previous decree did not dismiss him from office, but only asked Zhao Wenhua to return to his hometown to recuperate from his illness. Although he handed over the official seal of the Ministry of Industry, he was still a high-ranking official, but once this decree came out, Zhao Wenhua would no longer have an official position. It's just white officials with official status.

Of course, such Zhao Wenhua still has a chance to turn around, as long as the imperial court reactivates him.

Naturally, this cannot satisfy the officials who participated in the impeachment of Zhao Wenhua. When the Qingliu congratulated each other and shouted their joy, there were still many officials impeaching Wei Guangde for corruption, especially in a memorial. It is said that most of the materials used by Zhao Wenhua to build a mansion today are the materials of the newly built Xiyuan Pill House.

Gao Zhong felt a little overwhelmed when he saw this memorial. Should he show it to Emperor Jiajing?
The emperor has already spoken, don't look at these things, it's annoying.

However, what this memorandum said, he had to pay attention to it. If Zhao Wenhua really corrupted the materials in the ink palace to build his own house, this crime would be a bit serious.

Gao Zhong found Huang Jin with the memorial, and Huang Jin frowned when he saw it. When the memorial was sent up, Zhao Wenhua's skin would be peeled off even if he didn't die. It was almost to Zhao Wenhua's death.

The emperor is in a bad mood, to send or not to send?
After struggling for a while, the memorial was still handed over to Emperor Jiajing's imperial case.

From resignation to dismissal, at this time Zhao Wenhua was packing up the precious gold and silver in the mansion and preparing to return to his hometown to recuperate. He first avoided the recent limelight, and then found an opportunity to honor his godmother Ouyang in the future, and seek his godfather to help him make a comeback.

Of course, Zhao Wenhua knew about the censor of the court and interrupted the impeachment of him for being corrupt and perverting the law, but there was nothing he could do at this time.

The Yan family didn't take action to protect themselves, so they had to flee the capital with their tails between their legs.

Only at this time did Zhao Wenhua deeply realize that the stinky chess he played back then seemed to have offended his godfather severely.

(End of this chapter)