prosperous age

Chapter 663 Chapter 662
On the evening of the second day, two small sedan chairs left Xu Jie's mansion, followed the alleys around and made eight turns before reaching the avenue.

The small sedan chairs came one after the other, and soon arrived outside the walls of the mansion of Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Yang Bo.

There, an inconspicuous little door opened.

As the sedan chair curtains were opened, it was Yang Bo, Shangshu of the Ministry of Officials and Huo Yi, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, who walked out.

The two quickly entered the mansion through the small door, and after a while, the lights in Yang Bo's study room were brightly lit.

There were countless servants standing around the study, and everyone looked upright with firm eyes.

Although many people's faces are covered with wrinkles and traces of time, their eyes are still deep and sharp, as if they can see through everything.

Their muscles are still solid and powerful, and every tendon exudes perseverance and unyielding strength.

Undoubtedly, these people were the frontier soldiers who followed Yang Bo to fight against the cavalry on the Xuanda battlefield. Because of their bravery in combat, they were selected by Yang Bo and transferred to his subordinates as personal soldiers.

And after he left Xuanda and returned to the capital to become an official, he also brought him back as a writer.

At this moment, they are distributed around the study to prevent anyone from spying on the study.

"My lord, I think Xu Ge is always unreliable."

It was Huo Yi who spoke, but the relationship between him and Yang Bo at this time seemed to be no longer equal when they were outside court, but a distinction between superior and inferior.

"You sit down."

After Yang Bo returned to the mansion, he remained silent until this time when he finally spoke.

After Huo Yi sat down, Yang Bo said leisurely: "When you were asked to submit your resignation letter that day, Xu Zisheng should have had the intention to quit, but at that time he was not very determined, maybe he still had a glimmer of hope.

However, Chen Yiqin's begging for a rest and Zhang Qi's impeachment should let him know that the situation is over. "

"My lord, I don't understand. Regarding Zhang Qi's impeachment, didn't His Majesty directly demote him?"

Yes, Zhang Qi was convicted because of impeachment, and he was directly released, which is a heavy punishment for Ke Dao. Huo Yi didn't see anything worthy of Xu Jie's resignation.

"Have you forgotten what happened last year?"

But Yang Bo shook his head and said: "The officials of the Kodao are used to gossip, and they will not be punished, most of them will be ordered.

But this time, His Majesty's direct condemnation and punishment is actually to attract the wrath of the Kodao speaker to Mr. Xu Ge.

Just like what Gao Gong did back then, the fight with Hu Yingjia eventually led to the entire Ke Dao attacking him, impeaching him together, and finally forcing him to resign.

Xu Jie was still scheming, knowing that there was no hope, he decisively cut off his wrists.

It is better to resign by yourself than to be impeached. "

"No wonder Xu Ge always talks about him when talking about that matter today."

Huo Yi finally made up his mind.

Naturally, he is not an idiot to be Minister of the Ministry of War. In fact, he had already felt it when he was in the sedan chair just now, but he still couldn't believe it.

He didn't have the feeling that he was in control of the power even if he hadn't been Shangshu Shangshu.

Well, although he has been a minister for a short time, he has been fascinated by power, and if he asked himself, he would definitely not compromise easily.

In fact, he couldn't let go of the rights he had.

Bystanders are clear, those in the game are confused, maybe that's the case.

Although Yang Bo has served as an important minister of the Ming court for a long time, he has been separated from the main forces of the court and has become a self-contained body, so he has always been able to view the court situation with the mentality of a bystander.

Even now, he is still able to maintain his composure, because no matter how fierce the battle between the Shoufu faction and the Yulu faction is, it seems that he has nothing to do with it.

This relationship is very delicate, Wei Guangde envies him very much and wants to learn from it.

Xu Jie naturally understood it too, but he couldn't let Zhang Juzheng, who was about to inherit his political legacy, follow suit, because the tree attracts the wind.

He has too many relatives and friends, and he is already a very powerful force, enough to influence the court and cannot be hidden.

"My lord, what shall we do from now on?"

Huo Yi asked hesitantly.

After Xu Jie left, there would be a situation in the court where the old men of Yu Yu ruled over each other, and it would be difficult for Li Chunfang to control this group of people.

At that time, in the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, there might be a situation where only the words of the second assistant counted.

"Don't be surprised, that's what I've been telling you."

Yang Bo glanced at Huo Yi and said, "Do your job well and don't meddle indiscriminately.

As for those people, as long as it is beneficial to the court, they can support it, but if there is something wrong, point it out directly, argue with them openly, and don't play petty tricks. "

"Even if the palace means."

"The meaning of the palace is that there should be a fight."

Regarding Huo Yi's hesitant words, Yang Bo's answer was very straightforward.

But soon, Yang Bo seemed to realize something: "Perhaps, this is what Xu Jie asked Uncle Zhang to do. We have to cooperate with them, but we can't follow them in everything, but."

"But what?"

Huo Yi asked strangely.

"It always feels like it won't be that simple."

Yang Bo just shook his head. Now he can't think of how Xu Jie will arrange the follow-up, but he knows that Xu Jie is a human being, and he will definitely not give up easily.

His purpose is always to hope that his faction can control the court, so Zhang Juzheng and Yu Yu's gang will have to fight, and they will also compete for the emperor's support.

Emperor Longqing in the palace.
However, no matter how he looked at it, Yang Bo didn't think that Zhang Juzheng would be a person who flattered Emperor Longqing, and if he did that, it would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the court.

On the second day, Xu Jie, the chief assistant of the Ming cabinet, the young teacher and the prince's grand teacher, the secretary of the official department, and the great scholar of Jianji hall, went to Shuji to beg for rest.

The memorial was sent to the Qianqing Palace that morning, but this time Emperor Longqing did not give a quick reply, neither allowing nor rejecting it.

In the afternoon, Wei Guangde hurriedly left the yamen of the Ministry of Rites and went to a teahouse nearby.

In the private room, pushing the door open, Wei Guangde saw a person sitting quietly inside.

"Brother Chen, you can just tell me if you have something to do, why go out of the palace yourself."

Wei Guangde said after closing the private room door.

"He came here by order, let's make a long story short, Mr. Xu Ge asked to resign, what does His Majesty mean, do you agree?"

Chen Ju asked.

When Wei Guangde came, he had already guessed. Emperor Longqing was a little uncertain whether he should approve it at this time. After all, he felt that Xu Jie had not been pushed to a dead end.

Whether Xu Jie's resignation was sincere or false is worthy of investigation.

"there are others"

"There are people going, and His Majesty has to weigh it."

Chen Ju intercepted Wei Guangde's words.

"This time Xu Ge is always begging for retirement on the grounds of his advanced age. It doesn't seem to be against his will. The main thing is to understand the general situation and know that it is useless to stay. If His Majesty does not want to punish the crime, you can let him go."

"Leaving now, will it have a negative impact on the court situation?"

This should be what Emperor Longqing was most concerned about. After all, Xu Jie had experienced the Jiajing Dynasty and was extremely proficient in handling government affairs.

Although he wished that he would leave earlier, so as not to be an eyesore, Emperor Longqing also had to consider whether the government affairs would be delayed and cause trouble if Xu Jie left Beijing.

In fact, this is also because of his consistent view of himself, that if he is not a wise divine master, he needs the assistance of a famous minister.

He was most assured that Gao Gong was not there, and now that Xu Jie was leaving, he was inevitably worried about the government.

Wei Guangde smiled lightly and shook his head, "You don't have to worry, Mr. Xu Ge, Mr. Li and Mr. Chen are gone from the cabinet. Uncle Zhang's ability is also acceptable, and it will not have a great impact on the court."

Wei Guangde is very confident about this. Although Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were not well-known in history for some reason, Zhang Juzheng's name is real.

It's just that Wei Guangde knew that if he boasted that Zhang Juzheng was a man of heaven and earth at this time, and Chen Ju recorded it and said it back, Emperor Longqing would definitely not dare to let Xu Jie go, because he couldn't be believed.

The more people below brag, the more shrewd superiors can't believe it.

"Well, I thought so too."

Chen Ju said at this time.

In any case, Chen Ju also came from Neishutang, and served the emperor for a long time. In fact, he has seen a lot about dealing with government affairs.

The government affairs of the Ming Dynasty, to put it bluntly, are those. There are precedents for plagiarism, and there is no precedent for calling Jiuqing to discuss it.

As later generations said, the Ming Dynasty at this time was like an old man entering his twilight years.

No one thinks about carrying on the past and building on the past, because it is risky to do so.

Even if the previous precedent is copied, even if the effect is found to be poor after the final implementation, there is no responsibility, at most it should be changed.

The Ming Dynasty has enough background to try and make mistakes. In any case, the dynasty has been established for two hundred years, and the world has already returned.

As for why the traversers dare not make drastic reforms, hehe. That is a terrible job.

How many reformers in history ended well?
Don't pretend to be an ordinary person, even if you pretend to be an emperor, if you dare to make big reforms and affect the interests of the powerful, you won't know how you died.

Thinking about the last years of Jingtai, when Yingzong was restored, he knew that without the support of the powerful, it was hard to guarantee that the second "change of seizing the door" would not happen.

Wei Guangde also hopes that there will be changes in Daming, but it can only be subtle, and he can change it if he can. The impact is so great that it threatens him, so let Zhang Juzheng go forward.

I vaguely remember that Zhang Juzheng actually succeeded in the reform, but he couldn't maintain it in the end, and the results of the reform came to naught.

After Chen Ju left, Wei Guangde sat alone in the private room for a long time, then slowly got up, left the teahouse and returned to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites.

Later, the latest news came from Lu Bu that Emperor Longqing agreed to Xu Jie's begging for a rest, and specially ordered Chiyi to send pedestrians to escort him back.

In addition, he also wrote the imperial edict in his own hand. Qing was weak and crowned, and Er wrote Ci Lin. He was erudite and talented.He has made a lot of achievements in serving officials at home and abroad, but he was promoted to Julun Pavilion by the late emperor's family, and he was in charge of the great government.
"I heard that after His Majesty's decree was issued, Li Gelao and several elders all went to the palace to ask for an audience. It should be to persuade His Majesty to take back the order."

When Lu Bu said this, his eyes secretly stared at the expression on Wei Guangde's face, but soon he breathed a sigh of relief.

The expression on Wei Guangde's face remained the same, and there was no sign of happiness or anger, so it would be easier for him to go back.

After the office was dismissed, Wei Guangde went back to the mansion first, and later went out to Chen Yiqin's home to learn about the situation.

"It's all the rules, and it usually happens. Please think twice, Your Majesty. After all, Xu Ge has been in the cabinet for many years and is familiar with the political system. However, Your Majesty also said that Xu Ge is old and has asked repeatedly, so he agreed to beg for a rest. Banquet Laoxi, Yu Zhilong is like Yang Tinghe's story called Youlongyun."

Chen Yiqin briefly talked about their conversation with Emperor Longqing in the Qianqing Palace. Of course, the emperor could not say that it was according to his wishes, but according to Xu Jie's reason.

Moreover, although Emperor Longqing didn't like Xu Jie, he gave him a very heavy gift, even more generous than when Emperor Jiajing sent off Yang Ting and Li Jing.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng had just returned from Xu Jie's mansion, there were quite a lot of people coming to Xu Jie's mansion today, although they knew that he was leaving, many people still had many questions to ask for advice.

These people came and went in such a hurry, Zhang Juzheng could only stay by Xu Jie's side all the time, and he was very tired by this time.

However, after returning home, he did not rest, but went straight to his study and took out an unfinished memorial and spread it on the desk.

Before, he had carefully studied the several suggestions that Xu Jie had drawn up, and he probably wouldn't move them. However, he was not copying Xu Jie's articles, but was considering adding his own.

In fact, he and Xu Jie still have differences in governance, but most of the time he hides them cleverly.

At the very least, he knows that the actual situation of Ming Dynasty today is not what it used to be compared with the beginning of Ming Dynasty. If Xu Jie and others continue to follow the example of the previous dynasty to govern the country, not only will the country not improve, but also Gradually die.

Even if, as Gao Gong said, the clean-up of the bureaucracy can only slow down the speed of decline, but it cannot eradicate the long-standing evils, because after 200 years of development, the Ming Dynasty has already changed.

Compared with cleaning up the administration of officials, Zhang Juzheng is more inclined to improve the ability of officials to handle their own work.

It should be noted that when Taizu was in the early Ming Dynasty, the suppression of corrupt officials was so strict, but the officials still continued to fight one after another, which shows how attractive yellow and white things are to people.

Instead of changing corrupt officials one after another, it is better to acquiesce in their behavior within a certain range and improve their working ability.

Corrupt officials are not terrible, as long as you do practical things.

The scary thing is that people are both greedy and bad, they eat nothing but make money, but they don't do anything or do bad things.

With the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Zhang Juzheng is not worried about officials doing bad things, but if they don't do things, the people will wait for several years, and they will only be discovered during inspections.

With this in mind, Zhang Juzheng picked up a pen and quickly wrote in a corner of the article.

"Verify the name.

Today, to call a person's talent, there is no need to try to engage in it; to let him do something, there is no need to test his success; when doing something, it is not necessarily clear and correct.

Scholar-bureaucrats set up prescriptions, which are full of articles, but they are at a loss to check their own careers.

This so-called name does not match the reality.

In the future, it is necessary to test the end of the suitable person for employment, and to ask for the right person to teach.

The method of strict examinations is to use ups and downs, one to be true to who one is, don't dazzle the name, don't favor the capital, don't shake the reputation, don't mix love and hate, don't summarize his life in one thing, and don't cover up his integrity in a single way.

People have full-time jobs and bundles have responsibilities. "

This, in fact, is very similar to the examination method implemented by Zhang Juzheng when he was in power, or he has already begun to consider establishing a system to monitor the work efficiency of officials.

In the past, the Ministry of Officials inspected officials, mostly "anthology" and "examination of merit", and did not pay much attention to their work ability.

Some people can do one thing in one day, while others need ten days or more.

Moreover, in many cases, things go on without knowing the end, which becomes unfinished work.

Officials only want to make a flowery article to become famous all day long, and there are countless articles about Jianfang.

The next day, Shaofu and Prince Taifu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of War Huo Ji, and Minister of the Ministry of Punishment Mao Kai each went to invite Xu Jie, a scholar who stayed at the university.

This was Yang Bo's last move to keep Xu Jie in court. After all, he was not dismissed from office and left Beijing within a limited time.

(End of this chapter)