prosperous age

Xu Jie promised not to mention the candidates to participate in the competition for the Minister of the Household Department. Naturally, he was betting that Emperor Jiajing would not continue to delegate power to Yan Song, and it was not entirely because of the disparity in power between himself and Yan Song.

However, since Yan Song raised his conditions, Xu Jie must also timely raise his own requirements in exchange, which can also make Yan Song more at ease, but the incident happened suddenly, and he really couldn't think of suitable conditions for a while.

Wei Guangde, who was in Nanjing, naturally didn't know what happened in the capital.

In the past few days, he has been very proud of the spring breeze. Perhaps because of Xu Pengju's face, the first contribution to countering the rebellion this time was placed on his head after the memorial.

But when you think about it, he was the one who persuaded them to go back when the Zhenwu battalion's rebellious soldiers rushed out of the small school grounds. This gave Nanjing's high-ranking officials a chance to breathe, and dispatched troops to surround the small school grounds and let Zhenwu The rebellious soldiers in the battalion did not disrupt the entire city of Nanjing.

Thinking about it this way, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that his first contribution to suppressing the rebellion seemed logical again.

Now that the memorial is up, Wei Guangde naturally can't just leave now, even though the epidemic in Jiangbei has disappeared, and no new patients have been found for many days, this terrible plague is finally over after two months of raging in Nanzhili up.

In the past few days, due to the successful re-control of the Zhenwu Camp, the situation in Nanjing is stable, and the officials have resumed their previous life of drunkenness and luxury. Wei Guangde is also in Nanjing, and there are constant banquets every day.

Those of his entourage were also having fun on the Qinhuai River. Of course, this was only for those who were rich.

For poor students who depend on their salaries to support their families, the Qinhuai River is not a place where they can go at will.

Of course, since he followed Wei Guangde here, Wei Guangde will not treat them harshly. On the lower floor of the largest brothel on the Qinhuai River, his entourage is limited to high-ranking officials. Find a restaurant outside the post house to eat and drink, and it's over.

In the next few days, because he was the person who had the most dealings with the rebellious army, he also participated in the whole process of the subsequent judgment. Naturally, he had to meet the Minister of Criminal Affairs, Weng Pu.

The current Weng Pu is much older than a few years ago, and he no longer has the spirit of riding a horse to patrol the border town. Even if Nanjing City lives a comfortable life to support people, it can't stop the ravages of time.

"I'm getting old, and I plan to make a request for an official post at the end of the year."

When I saw Weng Pu, I asked him about his life in Nanjing, and Weng Pu shook his head and said, "I've been away from home for so many years, I should go back and have a look while I can still move around."

"The years make people old, and the mountains and rivers remember Ziyou."

Wei Guangde chanted casually, this is just Wei Guangde's feeling when he heard Weng Pu sigh that time is gone and time cannot return.

"The ones you discussed, I will approve here. It is best to be kind like this. It is not easy for those soldiers. They are all dragging their families, and these days, alas"

Weng Pu didn't continue to talk about other things, and brought the topic back to business.

The punishment for the leader of the rebel army in Zhenwu Camp was drafted by Wei Guangde after discussions with Li Sui and others, and was also agreed by He Shou, Xu Pengju and others. Don't let it go, so as not to cause trouble again.

The few who died unexpectedly were the leaders of this disturbance, and the others who took the lead were dispatched.

Although those who reported to the capital said they were going to the extreme side, they actually only left Nanzhili, Jiangxi and other places, and did not send them to Jiubian or Yunnan and Guizhou, so the soldiers in the rebellion also recognized them up.

Everything in Nanjing City calmed down like this, the military pay and compensation money were all distributed, and the soldiers had no reason to continue to make trouble after they got benefits.

"I asked you to stay quietly in the capital at the beginning. I didn't expect you to be so unlucky. Every time something happened, the emperor would think of you. And when you go, something will happen. This time, the Zhenwu camp was handled very well. Well, I guess you will be promoted again when you return to the capital."

Weng Pu looked at Wei Guangde and continued to speak.

At the beginning, Weng Pu had told Wei Guangde that it would be best to live in the capital in the past few years without being conspicuous and concealing the edge. As for when to show the edge, that is after the reserve position is determined.

Wei Guangde understands that because he and Yan Song are fellow villagers, Weng Pu is afraid that he and Yan Song's family will be too involved.

If King Jing is in power, then he will have a better life, but in Weng Pu's view, there is a high probability that King Yu will still be there.

In any case, King Yu took up a long word, even if he was only one month older than King Jing, he would still have an inherent advantage in inheriting the throne.

As for why Weng Pu treated him like this, Wei Guangde is of course also aware that there is no one above Weng Pu, and there is no way to make progress in the capital, so sooner or later he will be sent to this Nanjing city to complete the promotion of his grade, and then wait to become an official .

Naturally, Weng Pu would not just wait so willingly. He is at the end, but there are still clansmen who need to take care of him.

Wei Guangde showed a certain sense of responsibility in the first battle in Baoanzhou, and acted decisively when he saw a fighter. In Weng Pu's view, this person has the ability, and with the holy family, there is a high probability that he will be in a high position in the future.

Help him now, and he will support his juniors in the future, a perfect deal.

But after all, he was young and impulsive, and Weng Pu already had a premonition that as Emperor Jiajing got older, the open and secret fights between the two kings for the throne would only increase and never decrease.

The battle for the reserve position is the most dangerous and unpredictable, and if you are not careful, you will lose everything.

Weng Pu hoped that Wei Guangde could stay in the Imperial Academy well and not participate in it, not just for supporting him, but for being capable, anyone who came to power could be reused.

Even now, the next thing Weng Pu talked to Wei Guangde was the battle between the two kings of the capital.

"You see, I'm like this, and that Xiyuan guy won't be much better if you think about it. If you think what you said at the beginning is right, you'd better find a way to let it out and avoid that right and wrong place.

Although it is possible to never return to the court, whether it is rank improvement or real power, it is not comparable in the court.

If you stay in the capital, you will be involved sooner or later. It's okay if you stand right, but if you stand wrong, it will be difficult to turn back. "

Weng Pu still said earnestly to Wei Guangde that he was really worried that Wei Guangde would be involved with King Jing because of Yan Song, and his future would be ruined in the end.

In fact, Weng Pu has prepared several young people like Wei Guangde, but from the current point of view, Wei Guangde seems to be the top among them both in terms of his official career and his own ability.

Three years Qing magistrate [-] snowflake silver, it is naturally the best to release the money, not to mention that Beijing officials will be promoted to a higher level.

This time Wei Guangde played a huge role in the Nanjing Zhenwu Camp mutiny, and he should be rewarded after returning to the court. It is normal to be promoted to the sixth rank, but if he is looking for a release, it is not difficult to be a magistrate in a certain middle-level prefecture Well, the grade can also be raised to the fifth grade.

Under such thinking, Weng Pu felt that persuading Wei Guangde to take the initiative to seek external release after returning to the capital was the best choice. In fact, he agreed with Zhang Ke and others. has his place.

That's why the cabinet ministers of the Jiajing Dynasty took such an unusual path. Most of them came from reckless backgrounds and few from the Hanlin Academy. Even Xu Jie was demoted to other places, and finally returned to the court after a long circle.

In Weng Pu's view, Wei Guangde made some achievements when he went to the local area, and coupled with his previous contributions to the court, if he seeks to return to the court at that time, he can take root in the six departments without entering the cabinet. The moment of the climax of the battle for position.

Wei Guangde understands Weng Pu's meaning, but he has already taken the initiative to get in, but not many people know about it.

Wei Guangde was hesitating whether to talk to Weng Pu about this matter.

Although Weng Pu didn't say it clearly, Wei Guangde also guessed that he was worried that he was on King Jing's boat, otherwise, Weng Pu would not have said that when he knew that he supported King Yu under normal circumstances.

In fact, most of the officials at this time supported King Yu from the bottom of their hearts, but most of them didn't say anything, they just hid in their hearts and watched from the sidelines, prudently protecting themselves.

Perhaps no one dared to guess what Emperor Jiajing was thinking, except perhaps the genius Yan Shifan.

An official like Weng Pu, although he supports King Yu in his heart, but if you want him to speak for King Yu in court and confront Yan Song, he will never do it. The rich and powerful are against each other.

Officials of the Ming Dynasty had two options for retiring. One was to become an official, who could enjoy the benefits given by the court to retired officials and have a posthumous title after death.

Weng Pu doesn't want to lose his own welfare for the sake of the Tao in his heart, and offend the powerful and powerful, let others do it.

Wei Guangde considered for a moment, then said: "Master Weng, I actually have a good relationship with Mr. Gao Gonggao."

In the end, Wei Guangde didn't plan to hide Weng Pu. In fact, he had contacts with Gao Gong. All the officials in the capital knew about it. He only had to write the words "Yuwang Party" on his face. up.

Of course, these things were gradually exposed after Weng Pu went south, and it is normal for Weng Pu to be unclear.

"Um"

Weng Pu was slightly surprised when he heard Wei Guangde's words, but then fell silent.

After a long time, Weng Pu sighed: "You didn't pay attention to what I told you in Yanqing Prefecture back then."

When Wei Guangde returned to the capital from Baoan Prefecture, he met Weng Pu in Yanqing. Weng Pu talked with him alone, but he was worried that a new scholar like him would not be able to help but jump out to support Yu Wang, and finally ruined his future.

Hearing Wei Guangde's words today, he thought that although Wei Guangde seemed submissive at the time, he obviously didn't listen, and finally jumped into that quagmire.

"Actually, before going on tour, I had contact with Mr. Gao."

Wei Guangde understood the meaning of Weng Pu's words, and hastily explained.

"That's it."

Weng Pu nodded slightly, Xinke Scholars are the most like this, they don't understand the officialdom, they just do things with their so-called passion and do what they think is right.

At that time, Wei Guangde was still in the Imperial Academy, and he used the relationship of the Imperial Academy to communicate with Gao Gong. This is not surprising, because Gao Gong was still a bachelor of the Imperial Academy.

"If this is the case, then just pretend that I didn't say what I said before, and just assist King Yu with all my strength."

"Yes, Mr. Xie taught."

Wei Guangde said hastily, but after he finished speaking, he suddenly changed his mind.

It has been more than two or three years since Weng Pu left the capital. Although he is still in the officialdom, he is already an outsider compared to the court in Beijing. Perhaps at this time, he can still look at everything in Beijing calmly. .

I've talked about this today, shouldn't it be time to ask his opinion on the current battle between the two kings in the capital?
In the middle of the game, many times thinking calmly will actually bring subjective bias, and only those who have no gains or losses can objectively analyze and see the essence of the problem.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly clasped his fists and said to Weng Pu: "Sir, what do you think of the current situation in Beijing? As you said, the two kings appear to be brothers and friends, but privately they are fighting very fiercely.

In the court hall, because of the elder Yan Ge, the officials of King Jing's family can get a better position, and they also suppress the origin of the people of King Yu's mansion. Even Mr. Gao, who seems to be promoted, can only be sent Go to teach Guozijian.

I don't know if there is a good way to balance the power of the two kings? "

Hearing Wei Guangde's question, Weng Pu stared at him for a long time before shaking his head slightly.

"Actually, these are just appearances. The more support that person gets, the more unfavorable it is to him. If the whole court is full of his supporters, then you should be secretly laughing."

Weng Pu did not answer Wei Guangde's question of whether there is a good law, but said a seemingly irrelevant sentence.

Looking at the confusion in Wei Guangde's eyes, Weng Pu went on to say: "Now the world still belongs to the emperor."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde's eyes lit up, "Sir, you mean to play hard to get, if you want to destroy it, let it go crazy first?"

"No."

Weng Pu said firmly, "Old Yan Ge will not allow him to do this."

Hearing Weng Pu say that it was not what he understood, Wei Guangde frowned slightly, and thought carefully again.

"The current situation is actually a good thing for you. King Yu is being suppressed everywhere, and it is also a training for him. I don't think it is necessarily bad.

That year, the routines and yearly gifts of Prince Yu's Mansion were withheld by the household department. We all knew about it. Do you think the emperor would not know about it?
It's ridiculous that Yan Shifan is known as a ghost, but he still uses it to show off afterwards, and the prince will give him money, haha."

Now Wei Guangde understands the meaning of Weng Pu's words, it is good to maintain the current situation, Yu Wang's mansion is suppressed by Jing Wang's mansion everywhere, just stay in the capital and wait for the situation to change.

"Of the four forces in the capital, Qingliu is the most difficult to control and the most likely to fall to King Yu.

Other than that, the rest are Prince Yu's Mansion and King Jing's Mansion. Their spokespersons in the court are Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Yan Ge, but there is another seemingly weak force, but they can try to fight for it. "

Weng Pu went on to say: "Lu Bing, if you can, find someone to contact. If you can get goodwill, then the candidate in the emperor's heart is ready to come out."

Hearing Weng Pu's unexpected mention of Lu Bing, Wei Guangde was slightly taken aback.

"Based on the relationship between Lu Bing and the emperor, he probably knows more than anyone else."

Weng Pu just glanced at Wei Guangde indifferently and stopped talking