prosperous age

The impact of the Shanxi accident was not limited to Guo Gan, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Chi Fengxiang, the servant, was also impeached for the same reason as Guo Gan, cowardice and incompetence.

After Guo Gan was allowed to beg for his return due to illness, Chi Fengxiang also asked to be dismissed.

However, Emperor Longqing considered his character, not to mention that Emperor Jiajing had a lot of trust in him in his later years, so he decreed to lower his salary to three levels and transfer him to be the governor of Jiangxi.

The Ming Dynasty seems to have always been like this. When there is no accident, everyone is happy. After the accident, it is often a series of impeachments. Not only the person who should be responsible for the leadership is impeached, but many people are easily implicated.

Censor Lingru, Wu Shilai and others began to impeach the right servant of the Ministry of War, Ren Shiping, and Fuzhi Xunyang Youqin, the censor Liu Bingren. Afraid of misfortune, he recommended the eunuch Li Fang to tie his heart secretly, and celebrated the Minister's Day.
In fact, Wei Guangde has long been used to the bottomless impeachment of Ke Dao officials, and he doesn't take it seriously, but when Lu Bu reminded him that the name of the minister Li Fang appeared in the memorial, Wei Guangde realized it later.

Why would someone drag Li Fang into this matter at this time?

The front line was defeated, so it has nothing to do with the eunuchs in the palace.

But the current situation is that because of the defeat in Jiangxi, the original team of the Ministry of War, from Shangshu to Shilang, was almost taken over by one pot, and it seems that some people still want to make a fuss about this and pull Li Fang down because he recommended some of them. Said they secretly colluded.

Wei Guangde carefully read the memorial twice, but he didn't say anything, he just glanced at Lu Bu, and said calmly: "Got it, you go down first." '

Li Fang is an old man by the emperor's side, and Wei Guangde is also acquainted with him.

But after searching his brains, Wei Guangde really didn't know what his relationship with Ren Shiping and Liu Bingren was, because he had never heard him mention it.

However, Wei Guangde still smelled something unusual from it.

It's just about the inner palace, so naturally he wouldn't say a word in front of Lu Bu.

Now the eunuchs beside Emperor Longqing, apart from Li Fang and Feng Bao, the original eunuchs in the palace also include Teng Xiang, Meng Chong, and Chen Hong, all of whom were very fond of Emperor Longqing. After Huang Jin left the palace, most of his rights were lost. Temporarily handed over to Li Fang.

The environment in the imperial palace is actually similar to that of the imperial court. The group of eunuchs are friendly on the surface, but they are also playing tricks on each other behind the scenes, eager to replace them.

Wei Guangde heard from Chen Ju several times that Li Fang, because of Teng Xiang and Meng Chong's contention to play tricks and tricks to please the emperor, also induced Emperor Longqing to accept beauties in the palace and often drink at night, and repeatedly advised him face to face, but every time As a result, they were reprimanded by Emperor Longqing.

The queen was therefore neglected by the emperor, let alone a eunuch.

Wei Guangde also felt that Li Fang was meddlesome at first, and he was just serving others, so why bother to make his master unhappy by speaking out.

But now, it seems that it has reached a very serious level. Not only is Emperor Longqing's life unrestrained, but also the eunuchs in the palace seem to have seen an opportunity, a chance to step on Li Fang's supremacy.

Rubbing between his brows, Wei Guangde felt irritated for no reason.

Emperor Longqing had been suppressed for too long, and once he was liberated, he felt a little ecstatic.

Regarding the current situation in the palace, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that maybe Gao Gong stayed in the court, and he could talk a little bit about this one, as for the others.
Whether it's Chen Yiqin, Yin Shizhen, or himself, I'm afraid they won't have this face.

At noon, Wei Guangde asked Lu Bu to summon the man from the house, told him to go back and tell Zhang Ji, and arranged for someone to contact Chen Ju.

He used to think that there was Li Fang and Chen Ju in the palace, so he should be at ease, but he didn't expect that with the current situation, Li Fang might be a little nervous.

The key point, Wei Guangde thought for a long time but couldn't figure out who was going to make trouble with him, whether it was someone from the palace who contacted the court or someone in the court wanted to make a move.

He could only call out Chen Ju to ask about the situation in the palace, and see if he could think of a way for Li Fang.

Wei Guangde felt that Li Fang could still be friends with him deeply, after all, he was already very familiar with him, and he was also honest and honest, not treacherous.

During the Jiajing Dynasty, there might not be so many things going on in the inner palace. After all, the Emperor Jiajing only favored Huang Jin at that time, and there was almost no chance for others to shake Huang Jin's position.

With Huang Jin sitting in the palace, even if the people below fight, they will be controlled within a certain range.

But Long Qingchao, this is just the beginning, someone who Wei Guangde thought would be Huang Jin's successor has already made plans to remove him.

One can imagine what the harem will look like in the future.

The court is chaotic, and the harem is also chaotic
Tsk tsk tsk, today seems to be far worse than that of the late emperor.

Wei Guangde thought in his heart, he waited until the office was scattered, and then he left the Ministry of Officials and went home.

After arriving home, he changed his clothes and teased his son Wei Dacheng for a while before Chen Ju came late.

Let people set up the banquet that has been prepared, and the two drank for a while, and then turned around and started talking about business.

"Some time ago, I heard that Big Brother Chen became an eunuch. At that time, I wanted to contact you and come to my place to drink and celebrate. But at that time, there were too many affairs in the court, and you knew it, so it was delayed."

Wei Guangde opened his mouth and said.

"Hehe, it's just a name, it's not worth celebrating."

Chen Ju had long been arranged by his godfather Gao Zhong to serve in front of Emperor Jiajing, and became an imperial servant, but he had no status.

Later, he was promoted to eunuch because of some credit, but his grade was not high.

Of course, the rank of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty was not high in the first place, and being able to have rank was considered a status.

But now, even though he is only a low-status member of the Supervisor of Rituals, he is finally a well-established member of the Supervisor of Rituals. As long as he is good at it, it is not too difficult to be a writer in the future.

As for the palm prints and admirals, well, this is something that even godfather Gao Zhong failed to do.

Gao Zhong's most glorious moment is the seal of the imperial horse supervisor, and although the status of the imperial horse supervisor's palm seal is high, his real power is not as good as that of the supervisor of ceremonies.

This right is the power that can be exercised internally and externally as a eunuch.

The Supervisor of Ceremonies is known as the "First Department". It is in charge of all etiquette, criminal names, management errands, and listening to affairs in the imperial city. Naturally, its influence cannot be overstated.

He can become a supervisor of ceremonies, but in fact he has barely squeezed into the core of power in the inner court.

"Hehe. This time I invite the eldest brother to celebrate, and the second is that the younger brother is a little confused. What is the current situation in the palace?"

Wei Guangde smiled, of course he knew the position of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Chen Ju was just pretending to be very calm in front of him at the moment, and he might have been overjoyed in his heart.

"In the palace, nothing has changed in the palace, it's still the same."

Chen Ju answered.

"I mean, is there something wrong with Li Fang and Eunuch Li?"

Wei Guangde simply asked directly.

"Eunuch Li."

Chen Ju hesitated a little now, and looked down at the wine glass for a while before looking up at Wei Guangde and said, "Shan Loan, I know that you and Eunuch Li were old acquaintances when we were in the palace, and the relationship is not bad, but considering the current situation , it’s better not to walk around with Eunuch Li.”

"Why?"

Seeing Chen Ju's expression, Wei Guangde was startled. For him to say this, it is obvious that Li Fang's status in front of Emperor Longqing has been shaken.

"Eunuch Li is too upright. He will be reprimanded for admonishing His Majesty in two or three days."

Speaking of this, Chen Ju reached out to pick up the wine glass on the table and drank it in one gulp, then put down the wine glass again, and when he was about to reach for the wine pot, Wei Guangde had already picked up the wine pot and filled it up for him.

"The job in the palace is to serve the master. If he is reprimanded by the emperor every now and then, even years of friendship will be gone."

Chen Ju looked at Wei Guangde and lowered his voice again: "I mentioned it to Eunuch Li before, but he said... well, he seems to be stupid in reading too."

He didn't say what he said to Li Fang, but Wei Guangde also knew that it must be a word of loyalty to the emperor. It must have been learned when he was in the inner school, so Chen Ju said that he was stupid when he read books. .

"According to what you said, Eunuch Li is no longer favored, so Teng Xiang and Meng Chong are so favored?"

Wei Guangde continued to ask.

Although Wei Guangde didn't think there was anything wrong with tempting the emperor to enjoy himself, Teng Xiang and Meng Chong must be his enemies from his current standpoint.

He didn't want Emperor Longqing's harem to be a mess, it was best to keep it simple.

If Emperor Longqing could trust Huang Jin like Emperor Jiajing did to Huang Jin, he would have a lot less trouble in the future.

Therefore, on the premise that Li Fang has not yet confirmed that he has fallen out of favor, Wei Guangde thinks it is better to find out the details and bring down Teng Xiang and Meng Chong if he has the opportunity.

This is the environment that is most beneficial to you.

"Now they play by the emperor's side every day, and they are also at the side every time the emperor makes a comment."

When dealing with government affairs, not just any eunuch can serve on the side.

In the past, when Gao Zhong brought the memorial to the palace for Emperor Jiajing to review, Chen Ju could only follow the palace with the memorial, otherwise he could only wait outside the door.

Now that he has become a tutor, he is qualified to stand aside.

"Are they also eunuchs and eunuchs?"

To be honest, during the Jiajing Dynasty, Wei Guangde really didn't pay attention to these two people, they really didn't have much status in the inner palace.

"Teng Xiang is Eunuch Huang's godson, and he was also brought up by Eunuch Huang when he left the palace. Meng Chong was originally the cook of the imperial prison. The emperor ate the meals he made and was transferred to him."

Chen Ju seemed to have a little respect for Teng Xiang. After all, he was Huang Jin's godson, and Huang Jin was kind to him, especially after Gao Zhong's death. He obviously didn't have a good attitude towards Meng Chong, so he just said He was a cook.

"How are they doing? Are there any problems?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

"Shan Loan, I advise you not to stand up for Eunuch Li, even if you can find a way to drive them away, there is no guarantee that a second or third person will come out.

Eunuch Li fell out of favor not because of others, but because he himself was too straightforward in what he said and did. As long as he didn't persuade the emperor as frequently as he did now, his position would be unshakable based on his service in Prince Yu's Mansion for more than 20 years.

But if he continues like this, to put it bluntly, the Heavenly King and Lao Tzu will not be able to protect him. "

Chen Ju said to Wei Guangde in a low voice, and persuaded him not to take this muddy water.

After hearing Chen Ju's words, Wei Guangde nodded, and completely dismissed his previous thoughts.

Indeed, Chen Ju was right, even if he helped drive away those flattering eunuchs this time, there would still be thousands of people in the palace.

With the lessons learned by Teng Xiang and Meng Chong, later people would only rush forward one after another to flatter them, trying to please Emperor Longqing in different ways.

At that time, Li Fang will still be unlucky.

If Li Fang's status is to be stabilized, he still has to rely on himself, control his emotions, and don't give advice at every turn.

Immediately, Wei Guangde knew what to do.

I'm afraid it's inappropriate to call Li Fang to my home like Chen Ju did. I'd better talk to Chen Yiqin tomorrow and ask him to send a message to Li Fang when he meets the emperor and remind him.

This kind of thing still needs to be figured out by himself, otherwise it will not only fail to help him, but also make things worse.

"Come on, have a drink."

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde stretched out his hand to pick up the wine glass and handed it to Chen Ju, saying, "Congratulate brother Chen for his promotion today, and in the future, he will be able to hold a pen, palm print and even be an admiral eunuch, haha"

"Okay, let's borrow a good word from my brother."

Chen Ju knew that the previous topic was not suitable to continue, so he continued with a smile on his face.

If scholars in the Ming Dynasty regarded the cabinet as their lifelong pursuit, then the eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty’s palace pursued to become an eunuch in charge of rites and seals. As for the admiral, only the eunuchs who served the emperor since childhood dared to think .

Without the emperor's complete trust and lack of means, it is absolutely impossible to achieve that step.

Chen Ju is very self-aware. He thinks that he is already very successful if he can achieve the palm of the supervisor of ceremonies. He doesn't have much confidence in continuing to rise.

Then, Chen Ju told him about the situation of Feng Bao and other eunuchs in Yuwang's mansion in the palace, which gave Wei Guangde a general impression.

It seems that Feng Bao was also influenced by Teng Xiang and Meng Chong, and he also began to present his own rare and rare treasures to Emperor Longqing, but it seems that the focus is still on the little brother, and he, as the old man of Yu Yu, has long been The post of Eunuch Bingbi was restored.

If Li Fang goes down, will it be Feng Bao who takes the stage?
Wei Guangde always thought that Feng Bao should hang out with Zhang Juzheng in the end, so although he maintained a good relationship with Feng Bao, he didn't plan to have a deep friendship.

The root cause is that he bet his treasure on Li Fang.

But now the situation seems to have changed, Li Fang is a little unreliable, so he has to make other plans.

As for the people who came out of Prince Yu's Mansion, no matter who they were, when they chose to bet on the eunuchs next to the emperor, Li Fang would definitely be the first choice, and they would definitely not be Feng Bao, who was sent halfway to Prince Yu's Mansion.

That is to say, Wei Guangde was different. After realizing that Li Fang was unreliable, and then knowing that Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng almost controlled the inner and outer courts of the Ming Dynasty, to the extent that they could bully the little emperor, he realized that there was actually such an option.

Naturally, Wei Guangde would not tell Chen Yiqin about changing his bet on Feng Bao. The most important thing right now is to inform Chen Yiqin of the situation so that he can find a way to convince Li Fang that securing his position is the top priority.

In fact, Wei Guangde also wondered whether Chen Yiqin already knew about Li Fang's situation in the palace, and whether he had persuaded him before.

But it doesn't matter, I'll go to Chen Yiqin's house tomorrow for a banquet, and then I'll ask him face to face.

Early the next morning, when Wei Guangde went out to the yamen, he told Zhang Ji, asking him to post a message to the Chen family to inform him.