prosperous age

The Longqing Parade ended in one day. After the military formation drill of the frontier troops, some self-sufficient and powerful soldiers conducted archery and horse drills in Beijing and the generals of the Beijing camp.

For them, the chance of meeting Emperor Longqing in the past was very slim. Today, His Majesty the Emperor and the important ministers of the court are all here, and they still have to show themselves. They hope that their martial arts can be recognized by the big shots, and they will be able to do so in the future. Opportunities rise rapidly.

For nobles, although it is a hereditary military position that can guarantee food and clothing, there is also a chain of contempt within the noble group.

This actually has little to do with the inherited title. It does not mean that the earl will necessarily be afraid of the marquis or even the duke. Everything depends on their status in the emperor's mind.

The simplest comparison is the size of official positions held in the court.

The level of position not only represents the benefits that can be obtained, but also represents the closeness to the emperor.

Although Wei Guangde does not think that these martial arts are all silver-like wax spear heads, and some of them have acceptable martial arts value, but after all, they have lived in the capital all their lives and are not willing to go to the border towns to suffer, so they naturally lack practical experience.

As for fighting, although there are some so-called geniuses, such people are in the minority after all. They still need to accumulate experience through each battle to grow.

Simply relying on that little force value is just a reckless man, so naturally it is not worth investing in.

In fact, the Ming court was not unwilling to let these nobles go to the border towns to lead troops to fight. There was no need to worry about them becoming disobedient.

The main reason is that they are unwilling to endure hardship and would rather work in Jiangnan than in border towns.

The grand Longqing Parade ended. Emperor Longqing was very satisfied, and the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were also very satisfied. It can be said that Wei Guangde's operation was very successful and was unanimously recognized.

At the end of the parade, Emperor Longqing was still very excited, perhaps because he was infected by the grand scene. After all, in the environment he was familiar with, he had only been accompanied by those eunuchs who were neither yin nor yang for a long time. But at this moment, tens of thousands of heroes from the Ming Dynasty lined up under the high platform.

As the obedient Marquis Wu Jijue, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel Wang Bengu, the left minister of the household ministry Liu Ziqiang, and the imperial censors Xiangcheng and Su Shirun reported the review results, Emperor Longqing was also very happy because all the three armies passed the drill and there was no failure.

In fact, this is of course, after Qi Jiguang's selection, the unqualified soldiers have been cleared out long ago, and those who remain in the field to practice martial arts are naturally those who are good at it.

"Your Majesty, please refer to the generals and Hou Bo's royal guards who have been classified according to the number of shots. The first class is Funing Marquis Zhu Gang and other 66 people, the second class is Qingping Marquis Wu Jiayan and ten others, and the third class is Xiangcheng Bo Li Yingchen. , Zhongjun Shangrui and five others."

Wu Jijue, the respectful marquis, stood under the high platform and loudly reported the results of the nobles and generals who performed martial arts in the parade.

"Okay, the silver coins are like rewards for ministers, so I hope you can encourage them."

Emperor Longqing had already stood up and stood at the edge of the high platform, speaking loudly to the kneeling general below.

"I thank you Lord for your kindness, long live long live long live."

See the generals and nobles immediately shouting thanks.

However, Emperor Longqing still felt that he still had some unfinished ideas. He still stood on the edge of the stage and looked at the reorganized military formation not far away. They were all very powerful, so he said loudly:

"If the army teaches martial arts, protects the country and promotes the country, and trains well, the country's prestige will be strong. You will encourage him to do so."

After saying that, Emperor Longqing turned around and returned to his throne. At this moment, the musicians from Taichang Temple, Jiaofang Department and Bell and Drum Department who had been waiting for him on the left and right sides of the high platform began to play the "Music of the Warriors". Zuo Ye all sang in agreement.

The poem says: My emperor inspected the martial arts and formed the Jianrong Brigade. The imperial dragon flag shone on the Tiger and Leopard Camp. The six commanders were surrounded by armored clouds and showed their mighty spirit. The barbarians were shocked and chanted on the radio, and the world was peaceful and clarified.

On that day, Emperor Longqing came to the altar in uniform, and the military power was in order. The soldiers of the six armies were all doing their best, and no one dared to make a noise and disobey the order.

"Feng, Heaven has carried the emperor, and the edict said, I only serve the king and the country more than serving the sky, and the preservation of the country is not more important than the ancestors; the way of a minister is not to be loyal to the emperor but to love others. I inherit the great deeds, but God pays it to my ancestors, Stay respectful all day and night, work hard and think rationally, and dare not be lazy.

Those who govern the people love the people wholeheartedly, and those who govern the army love the army wholeheartedly.
Wei Guangde, the great scholar in the current cabinet, does not live up to my expectations. He is honest and upright.

Wei Guangde, a bachelor of Jindong Pavilion, is a bachelor of Wuyingdian, Taibao and Prince Shaofu."

Meng Chong stood in the cabinet courtyard and read out the imperial edict just issued by Emperor Longqing in the eunuch's unique drake voice.

"Thank you Lord Long En, long live my emperor, long live, long live, long live."

Wei Guangde knelt down among them. After listening to the imperial edict read by Meng Chong, he immediately replied loudly.

Then he stretched out his hands and stood up after receiving the order from Meng Chong.

"Congratulations, Shandai, who has been promoted to an official position and a noble title, must have two tables set up to celebrate."

“First congratulations to Shan Loan, and then ask for a drink.”

Cabinet minister Li Chunfang and other cabinet ministers were also present at this time. After receiving the imperial edict, they came over to congratulate and asked Wei Guangde to hold a banquet to celebrate.

Wei Guangde's face was flushed with excitement at this moment.

Now his rank has surpassed that of Yin Shizhen and is the same as Zhang Juzheng.

Although the three of them still have little place in the cabinet, inferior to the first and second assistants, their voice has definitely become larger.

"I will be down to welcome the guests tonight, cooking with gold and jade."

Wei Guangde said cheerfully to his colleagues, and then stepped forward to exchange a few words with Meng Chong. After all, it was a decree sent by him.

In fact, last night, Wei Guangde had already learned about the emperor's reward from the note sent by Chen Ju's messenger, so he had already prepared a red envelope in his sleeve.

During the exchange with Meng Chong, it was handed over to Meng Chong inadvertently.

Bi don't think that these great eunuchs will not accept gifts when they come out to read out the imperial edict. This is an unspoken rule. Eunuchs of any rank must receive red envelopes.

For someone like Meng Chong, the things he sent over were not too light. There was a 600-tael meeting ticket.

After receiving the red envelope, Meng Chong showed a bright smile on his face, quietly put it into his arms, said a few more festive words, and left.

Regarding Wei Guangde's invitation to drink at night, Meng Chong just pretended to be helpless and said: "On duty tonight, I have failed Shandai's good intentions."

"It doesn't matter. I'll set up a special table for Eunuch Meng to come over another day."

"Okay, that's it."

After the eunuch sent them away, Wei Guangde returned to the courtyard and saw that Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and others were still here. They had not left to go back to their houses to work. He felt a slight movement in his heart and knew the reason.

"Shaloan, let's have a wedding banquet tonight, now everyone is going to my place to discuss something."

Li Chunfang said.

"it is good."

Wei Guangde followed them and went directly to Li Chunfang to check in. Wei Guangde did not sit behind Chen Yiqin, but still chose to sit in the original position, which meant that he gave the seat further forward to Yin Shizhen.

"We'll talk about the celebration tonight. Now let's talk about the news that has been circulated by the government and the public in the past two days. It is that His Majesty plans to recall Gao Gong. I don't know why, but it has spread like wildfire."

Li Chunfang said immediately.

"Yes, some people came to my house last night to inquire about this matter. I could only deal with it. I don't know what your Majesty was thinking." Chen Yiqin answered.

Emperor Longqing intended to recall Gao Gong, and everyone here knew it. Perhaps he was worried that if the edict was issued directly, he would be opposed by the ministers and cause trouble, so he kept it secret.

As for the news that Gao Gong was going to return to the court one day after the end of the parade, Wei Guangde actually suspected that Emperor Longqing spread it deliberately, and the purpose was naturally to test the reaction of the officials.

After all, many people in the court were involved in forcing Gao Gong to become an official.

Although times have changed, their current hearts may not have changed.

If Gao Gong is recalled suddenly, someone might join forces and jointly file a petition against recalling Gao Gong again, which would make things ugly.

"There's no message over there, right?"

Wei Guangde asked hesitantly, looking at everyone while speaking.

Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen both shook their heads. Although Chen Yiqin and Li Chunfang did not speak, it was clear from the fact that they had asked this question just now that they did not know about it beforehand.

As for the "over there" that Wei Guangde said, everyone knew exactly who he was referring to.

"Since there is no will, we are afraid that we can only deal with it for now."

Wei Guangde didn't say that. In fact, everyone had been asked by the emperor and there was no need to say anything more.

"I thought so before, but I just called everyone to ask questions to avoid making mistakes.

Since there is no word from the palace, we should keep it secret for now and pretend we don’t know about it. "

Li Chunfang said seriously now.

Just like what Wei Guangde and others discussed at the beginning, not only did they not like Gao Gong's return to the court, but Li Chunfang also didn't like it. Zhang Juzheng should also have this attitude in their opinion.

"In that case, everyone should go back to work."

Seeing that no one had anything to say, Li Chunfang spoke again.

Wei Guangde and others all stood up, bowed their hands to Li Chunfang, then turned around and were about to go out, when they saw a member of the Zhongshu House holding a document in both hands walking in quickly from outside the house. He didn't have time to salute other cabinet ministers, so he said hurriedly to Li Chunfang: " Lord Chief Assistant, report on the Fujian Eight Hundred Miles War."

Battle report, eight hundred miles away, obviously this is an urgent matter, very important.

Just when everyone's expressions changed drastically, Wei Guangde asked: "Is it good or bad?"

"Mr. Wei Ge, I don't dare to open the seal without permission. I don't know."

The person in the middle school room said hurriedly.

While talking, Li Chunfang had already received the urgent document from the stranger. She was still checking the wax seal. When she saw that the seal on it was intact, she quickly opened it and took out the battle report document.

Chen Yiqin, Zhang Juzheng and others looked at Li Chunfang nervously, hoping to see clues from his face.

If it's good news, Li Chunfang's old face will definitely be filled with joy, but if it's bad news, it will definitely be very ugly.

After a moment, Li Chunfang's still serious face suddenly turned into a chrysanthemum, and she unconsciously stroked her beard and smiled.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Good news, otherwise the Chief Assistant wouldn't have this expression.

Sure enough, when Li Chunfang raised her head and looked at everyone, the first words she spoke made everyone feel happy, and then they became extremely excited.

"Liu Tao, the governor of Fujian and Guangdong, and Tu Zemin, the governor of Fujian, jointly reported that all the big pirates who had been roaming the waters of Fujian and Guangdong for many years were wiped out, haha."

Amidst Li Chunfang's hearty laughter, Wei Guangde was the first to come to his senses.

He raised his hands and said to Li Chunfang: "Master Chief Assistant, has the great pirate ever been captured?"

"They were captured by the Guangdong Navy, including a whole family of young and old. Zeng Yiben's pirates were completely wiped out. Although a few of them escaped, they are no longer a threat."

As she spoke, Li Chunfang handed the memorial in her hand to Wei Guangde, "Let's take a look. After reading it, we have to send it to the palace immediately.

Well, we need to find someone from the Ministry of War to figure out how to reward meritorious soldiers. "

Wei Guangde reached out and took the memorial from Li Chunfang, and quickly browsed it, hearing the words of his second assistant, Chen Yiqin.

“In recent years, Japanese pirates have almost disappeared along the Jiangnan coast, and a small number of Japanese pirates have become attached to those few groups of pirates.

After the Wu Ping pirates were killed before, Zeng was the only one who was at large. Today, he was captured. The southeast coast should be able to stop. This is a great joy. "

"Indeed, I have also paid attention to the report from Southeast this year. It seems that this group of pirates was once the last group of pirates. Now that it has been eliminated, peace has really returned to the southeast coast. It should be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible."

They were chatting and laughing there. Wei Guangde had roughly read the memorial and already understood the story of the battle.

The combined forces of the Fujian and Guangxi navies led by Yu Dayou and Li Xi successfully attacked Tuoling Port. When the Ming navy arrived at the port, none of the pirates were informed of the news in advance.

It was not discovered until the Ming Navy navy rushed into the port with the Fengzhou-class warship and unleashed firepower wantonly on the Japanese pirate warship from a high position.

Despite the success of the Ming army's raid, the pirate army had no intention of fighting and could only flee in chaos by boat.

Although the sneak attack was successful, only the elite of the pirates survived. In such a chaotic situation, nearly fifty of them got out of the Ming army's siege and fled overseas after breaking through the Ming army's last interception force in a deadly battle.

However, after this stop, there were only more than [-] large and small warships left by the pirates, including [-] large black ships.

Yu Dayou was naturally dissatisfied with the outcome of the battle, so he immediately led the Dafu Ship, Dragon Boat Clippers, etc. to pursue them, and deliberately pressed the pirates toward the southwest sea.

Finally, during the pursuit, the remnants of the pirates ran into 170 warships of the Guangdong Navy that were heading north to join Yu Dayou and Li Xibu.

After a fierce battle, most of the pirates were wiped out. Zeng Yiben's flagship was destroyed by the Guangdong Navy's Dawu ship. Zeng Yiben fell into the water and was captured by the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

Speaking of which, it was unexpected that the battle merit of capturing Zeng Benben unexpectedly fell on Guangdong Commander-in-Chief Guo Cheng and General Wang Zhao.

However, for Yu Dayou, the military exploits of annihilating the main force of pirates were indeed real.

Nowadays, coastal officials have more or less seen that pirates have declined because there are no new forces joining. Now the main thing is to eliminate the old pirates involved, so that the situation in the southeastern sea can be alleviated.

It should be said that this battle was basically completed as Yu Dayou expected, and it was considered a perfect victory for the Ming Navy.

When handing the memorial to Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde also sighed: "It's Guo Cheng's luck that 170 warships blocked more than [-] pirate remnants. If it hadn't been for the victory in the Tuoling Port battle and the pirates gathered together, I'm afraid the Guangdong navy The teacher is in danger."