prosperous age

Forty-Nine City shrouded in darkness, the street market is still bustling and bustling.

The so-called four nine cities are actually the layout of the capital when Zhu Di moved the capital, that is, the four gates of the imperial city and the nine gates of the inner city.

However, in the Jiajing Dynasty, part of the outer city was expanded, and seven new gates were built.

However, in the eyes of ordinary people, the city of Beijing is still a forty-nine city.

As we all know, ancient China has always had the tradition of "night ban".

At dusk, the gates of the city are locked, and all the squares and cities are also closed. If there is no important business, they are not allowed to walk on the street, otherwise they are called "night offenders" and will be punished.

But few people know that in fact, in ancient times, night markets began to form in some big cities.

A night market, as the name suggests, is a market that does business at night.

The earliest document that clearly records the night market is the "New Theory" written by Huan Tan, a famous thinker during the Han Dynasty. Take a look at the night market..."

The "night market" here refers to the night market.

By the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the records of the night market were very clear.

For example, the poet Wang Jian once described in his poem: "Thousands of lights in the night market illuminate the blue clouds, and there are many people with red sleeves in high-rise buildings."

In the Tang Dynasty, the residential area was strictly separated from the commercial area. "Li", "Fang" (residential area) and "shi" (market, commercial area) were surrounded by high walls, and the Li gate and the city gate were set up. manage.

Trading is not allowed in "li" and "fang"; trading is allowed in "market", but there is a strict market opening and closing system.

The real opening and scale of the night market was in the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty first abolished the square market system, and the square market was integrated into one, such as some small supermarkets and small stores today, selling goods in the front, and home or production in the back.

In order to prosper the market, increase tax revenue, and encourage people to engage in commercial activities, the government of the Song Dynasty extended the hours of the night market to the third shift, and the morning market could be held at the fifth shift.

The night market is over, the morning market is open, there are "ghost markets" and even "flea markets", all of which provide convenient conditions for the development of the night market.

After the Yuan Dynasty, the country was relatively short, and the sea ban and the country were locked down, and the curfew system was re-imposed. The night market was greatly suppressed, and it was almost non-existent.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the country was newly established, still imitating the Yuan Dynasty, and the night ban was strictly enforced, but in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the world was stable and the night market was restored.

Although the night markets in the Ming Dynasty were not as grand as those in the Song Dynasty, the night markets in Jiangnan were still very prosperous.

Especially Yangzhou, it is said that from the middle of the Tang Dynasty, with the relaxation of the night ban system, it took the lead in canceling the night ban and became a "city that never sleeps".

There were still people coming and going in the street market, and in a mansion in a certain square city, several distinguished elders also gathered in front of a table of wine and food, chatting while enjoying delicious food and wine.

"Old Ge, today the Ministry of Officials has issued a letter to let the chief minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Bu Xiang, Yu Shi Ma Mingmo and others go out. Yin Zhengfu insists on this, and he has seized some of their tricks. It is really impossible to stop."

The person who opened the mouth was Yang Bo, Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials, who was telling what happened in the office of the Ministry of Officials today.

Yin Shizhen really confronted Xu Jie openly. For these people, Xu Jie's disciples were obviously killing them all, and they held some small and big handles in their hands.

Putting it out can be regarded as turning over the fault, and it is a punishment if it is not big or small.

Yang Bo wanted to withhold the official document, but he knew that if he could stop it for a while, he couldn't stop it for the rest of his life.

If the Ministry of Officials does not approve, Yin Shixuan directly submits the memorial and sends it to the cabinet, so what should we do?
If it is poked out, everyone's faces will be even uglier.

"Wei Yue, you will approve all these directly in the future, and you don't need to consider me."

Sitting across from him was Xu Jie, the chief assistant of the court. He had never seen any storms in the court for more than [-] years, and he still looked calm and calm.

Naturally, the guests at their table were all dignitaries in the court, including Zhang Juzheng, a cabinet minister, and Huo Yi, Minister of the Ministry of War.

"They themselves are confused. Normally, they would help if they could. Now it's obviously because of that incident. The palace already has a grudge against me."

Having said this, Xu Jie just shook his head lightly.

"Then how does Mr. Ge plan to deal with it? It's not a solution to continue like this."

Yang Bo said again.

"Why don't I know, but what can I do? Hehe"

Xu Jie chuckled twice, and then said: "In my life, I have no regrets in my heart. I have brought down the father and son of the Yan family, and after the death of the late emperor, I have been satisfied."

Hearing what Xu Jie said, Zhang Juzheng and Huo Yi couldn't help looking at Xu Jie's already aged face.

They had already heard the meaning in Xu Jie's words, and Yang Bo frowned even more. He seemed to understand that Xu Jie meant to retreat bravely.

Yes, I offended the emperor, and now Yu Yu and his group are targeting everywhere, Xu Jie continues to sit in the position of chief assistant, life will not be easy.

Now, the emperor hasn't turned his face for the time being, and he is still amiable, but what will happen after Yu Yu and those people cut out Xu Jie's disciples?
Change face?

Although Xu Jie was the chief assistant, it seemed that Emperor Longqing would not be able to tear his face and punish him, but if he was dismissed from office and rushed back to his hometown, he would really lose his face.

For no reason, Yang Bo suddenly had a feeling of rejoicing in his heart.

Perhaps, after Xu Jie left the court, the turmoil would calm down.

To be honest, if Chaotang continues to torment like this, he doesn't know whether he will be labeled Xu Dang in the end.

After all, many times, he chose to side with Xu Jie, starting from the time when Yan Song was in power.

"Shoufu, why don't you test it first?"

Although he had this intention, Yang Bo didn't show it, but said in a low voice.

"Test? How to test?"

Xu Jie raised his head, looked at Yang Bo with cloudy eyes, and said in surprise.

At the same time, Zhang Juzheng and Huo Yi also turned their heads to look at Yang Bo.

Under the eyes of everyone, Yang Bo glanced around and said: "Let Yao Feng go up first and ask for a memorial."

Hearing that he was asked to resign, Huo Yi actually felt a little uncomfortable. In his understanding, Zhang Juzheng should be the most suitable person to test the emperor's attitude towards Xu Jie.

However, Huo Yi never thought that if Xu Jie left the court, who else among them would stay in the cabinet.

Although Zhang Juzheng is now the last seat in the cabinet, he is a cabinet minister and is naturally closer to the emperor than Shangshu.

But everything about him was given by Yang Bo, since it was proposed by Yang Bo, naturally he couldn't object.

After being surprised for a while, Huo Yi nodded and said: "Then I will make some memorials overnight."

"Not urgent."

But unexpectedly, Yang Bo waved his hand.

Just when Huo Yi was suspicious, Yang Bo explained: "I met Lei Shangshu today and chatted with him a few words, knowing that he has the idea of ​​begging for a rest today."

Speaking of this, Yang Bo unconsciously looked up at the roof, and said as if reminiscing: "Lei Li is worried that the capital is thousands of miles away from Jiangxi, and he will not be able to return to his hometown alive. He is afraid of repeating the mistakes of Yuan Wei and Yuan Maozhong."

At the beginning, Yuan Wei asked to resign several times because of his illness and was rejected by Emperor Jiajing. After seeing that there was no hope of recovery, he was sent back to his hometown, but he died on the way.

"Maozhong"

Xu Jie was also very emotional when he heard Yuan Wei's name. At that time, he and Yuan Wei worked together to manage the cabinet. It should be the most relaxed time for him to preside over the cabinet in these years.

Yuan Wei has the ability to handle affairs, and he doesn't fight for power. If there is something to do, the two discuss it.

"After Lei Shangshu begs for a rest, you will go to the impeachment memorial and ask for resignation."

Yang Bo is not a fool, let Huo Yi, who had finally supported him, submit his resignation directly, what if Emperor Longqing loses his head and directly criticizes him?
Let Lei Li go to the memorial first, no matter whether he approves it or not, at least at that time Huo Yi will go up again, the probability of Emperor Longqing staying directly is higher.

Both Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng nodded knowingly, thinking that this was the most appropriate way to deal with it.

Two days later, Wei Guangde received a note sent by Zhu Dashou at the duty room of the Ministry of Rites, which only had the name of the person on it.

Wei Guangde knew that these people were Shujishi who were selected by the imperial examination in the second year of Longqing.

After a quick scan, Wei Guangde nodded in satisfaction.

For this imperial examination, the Hanlin Academy will add [-] Shuji scholars, including Xu Xianqing, Chen Yubi and others.

The people Wei Guangde wanted to protect, such as Wang Jiaping, Yu Shenxing, etc., were among them as they wished, besides Li Weizhen and Fan Qian, two Jiangxi fellows.

After the test, Wei Guangde regretted not leaving one or two joints for the Jiujiang students, which led to the annihilation of the entire army of Jiujiang students.

For this imperial examination, Wei Guangde will naturally not make such a mistake again.

I looked through the results of the palace examination early and checked the top two people. After understanding their knowledge and family background, I arranged to meet with several people.

Li Weizhen and Fan Qian were Wei Guangde's final candidates for protecting the common people.

Although I don't know if they will have a chance to join the cabinet in the future, at least they have to arrange some helpers for themselves.

You know, the Yan family was so crazy in selling officials in the capital, but they still help the fellow villagers in Jiangxi if they can, and they don't necessarily care whether they give money or not.

Why?

It's not that I hope to have the help of fellow villagers, so that I can help speak in the court in the future.

If Wei Guangde had chosen not to help each other instead of taking refuge in King Yu's mansion, he might have offered help secretly when Yan Song fell from power and Yan Shifan was put on trial.

At least, when Yan's house was raided, Cheng Shoujie was polite to Yan Song. Wei Guangde only thought that his reminder had an effect, but he didn't know that Emperor Jiajing had also issued a verbal order to Cheng Shoujie through Jin Yiwei.

After all, Emperor Jiajing really knew about the impeachment of the Yan family by all the officials, and for the rest who didn't know, all the officials did not dare to impeach.

Those are all unspoken rules, and they still expect to reach in and grab something when it's their turn.

What does this mean?
This shows that the greater the power of the township party in the court, the greater the benefits for everyone.

Yan Song ruined the reputation of Jiangxi officials, and the previous Jiangxi seniors did sometimes look ugly, which made other provincial officials feel bad, and often secretly suppressed Jiangxi officials.

Shooting down a Jiangxi official is tantamount to giving others a chance.

In the Ministry of Officials, Wei Guangde already felt this way.

Some people in Huguang, Zhejiang and other places are targeting Jiangxi officials, nibbling away step by step, and want to replace them.

Jiangxi officials currently retain the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry. His Shangshu is just a name, and it is really not worthwhile.

It is what he, Lei Li, Zhu Heng and others have to do to stabilize the basic situation of Jiangxi officials.

It is basically an established fact that Lei Li is going to become an official and Zhu Heng is going to take over the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry. The rest is for Wei Guangde to stabilize the roots of Jiangxi officials and ensure that Jiangxi's sons continue to enter the court and replenish fresh blood.

On the second day, the Hanlin Academy played to obtain the list of concubines. Emperor Longqing directly approved the redemption and ordered Zhan Shifu to be in charge of the affairs of Zhan Shifu.

Knowing the news, although Wei Guangde was a little surprised, he didn't say anything, just stared blankly for a while.

He really didn't expect that the job of teaching Shujishi would not fall on him.

Shu Jishi, among the 30 people selected this time, they must be cabinet ministers. Without this teaching job, it is actually equivalent to missing a group of helpers.

Fortunately, he had already arranged for several people to go in privately, and he directly asked Zhu Dashou to handle this matter, and he did not inform Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen.

Later on the same day, Wei Guangde went out of the city to welcome Zhu Heng back.

Zhu Heng had been out of Beijing to inspect the new river channel, which was the first major river project since the opening of the Longqing Dynasty.

After the opening of the new river, water transport was restored.

Now that Zhu Heng is back, it also means that it is time for Lei Li to beg for a rest.

That night, Wei Guangde received a letter from Lei's family member at home, and after opening it, Wei Guangde knew that Lei Li was going to play to beg for rest tomorrow.

Sure enough, the next day there was news that the begging memorial had been sent to the cabinet, and Lei Li did not go to the yamen, choosing to rest at home directly.

Now that the weather is getting hotter, some unemployed nobles in the capital have left the capital in twos and threes to find Qingliang Bieyuan to escape the summer heat.

The officials are very envious of Xungui's behavior, but they are not jealous.

Lei Li's memorial came very quickly, and the cabinet took special care of it, and it was sent to the palace on the same day. Before the yamen was scattered, there was news that the emperor "would not allow it".

Lei Li's first memorial to beg for rest was rejected, but the matter had little influence in the court.

The officials had heard about Lei Li's illness more or less, and some people also knew that Lei Shangshu was determined to return to his hometown.

If the first memorial is rejected, then continue. The real test of the emperor is the third memorial to beg for rest.

After Wei Guangde left the Ministry of Rites, he drove directly to Chen Yiqin's residence. In the afternoon, he received a note from Chen Yiqin, so he came naturally.

"You want to beg for sleep?"

Well, when Wei Guangde saw Chen Yiqin, after a few pleasantries, he was overwhelmed by what Chen Yiqin said.

"To tell you the truth, I have been in poor health for the past few years. The imperial doctor said that it is best to rest and recuperate, otherwise it will be difficult to get rid of the root."

Chen Yiqin explained, "I'm begging for a rest, His Majesty should be able to add cabinet ministers, and soon you and Zhengfu will be called into the cabinet.

The imperial doctor also said that my disease should be improved after a year or so of recuperation. After that, as long as I don't work too hard, I won't get sick again. I will come back at that time. "

Wei Guangde shook his head and said: "At this time, His Majesty may not agree."

Wei Guangde didn't think that Emperor Longqing would let Chen Yiqin go at this time, because there was no one in the cabinet.

Chen Yiqin left, even if Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen were added, it would only replace Zhang Juzheng's position at the bottom of the cabinet.

In the cabinet, Chen Yiqin can be regarded as number three. If Xu Jie leaves, he can be promoted to the second assistant, and Li Chunfang will replace him as the first assistant.

Chen Yiqin's position was too important, Wei Guangde believed that Emperor Longqing would never allow him to leave at this time.

"I'll try a memorial, and then talk to His Majesty, if His Majesty insists, then I won't be in the book."

Chen Yiqin also understood the delicate personnel relationship in the cabinet, so he didn't force it, but just said it casually. (end of this chapter)