prosperous age

Gao Gong walked out of the Qianqing Palace. He was not interested in finding out how many Jinyiwei there were. It was enough to know that there were many people.

After passing through the long corridor, Gao Gong suddenly stopped when he reached the Huiji Gate. Although the cabinet was not far away, he stood under the corridor and thought for a moment before choosing to walk outside the imperial city.

Yes, he does not plan to return to the cabinet at this time.

As for what happened today, because I had different opinions with other cabinet ministers, I might not have a smiling face even if I wanted to meet him.

However, he did have strong opinions on Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin, Zhang Juzheng and others. He did not take responsibility for anything and would always call people for meetings to discuss. In fact, many of them could be arbitrary.

Because of their indecisiveness, the matter remained unresolved for a long time and the court functioned inefficiently. Both Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were responsible.

He couldn't stand these people who only wanted stability and did not think about progress.

Wei Guangde had the means, but he looked forward and backward when doing things. He only knew how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Such a person who stole the center of the cabinet was not a blessing to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng used to feel that he was a pretty good person, and their ideas were very compatible with each other. However, since he took over Xu Jie's group, he has always considered his own interests when doing things.

The faces of cabinet ministers passed through his mind one by one, but Gao Gong could not find any worthy of his wooing and cultivation.

Perhaps, having already reached this position, there is no need for him to promote him.

As Gao Gong walked along the way, the guards and chamberlains he met on the way saw him from a distance and stood decisively by the roadside, lowering their heads and not daring to look at him. Even the officials who came to the Sixth Section and the Cabinet to do business turned a blind eye.

After leaving the imperial city, he stood still and was soon carried over in a sedan chair.

The entourage opened the curtain of the sedan chair, bent down and entered the sedan chair, and said: "Go to the official department."

The reason he came out this time was to implement the dismissal of officials as soon as possible and let the Ministry of Civil Affairs report it as soon as possible.

Of course, such a matter cannot be handled by him as the minister, but should be left to whichever minister in the Ministry of Personnel is best to handle.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs began to study the abolition of those official positions, and there was a lot of discussion between the government and the public about Liu Tiqian being ordered to retire.

While everyone was still discussing this matter, Chen Yiqin had already completed a memorial in the duty room.

Although the cabinet would not report the matter, Chen Yiqin still made up his mind to report it and asked Emperor Longqing to keep Liu Tiqian, because in his opinion, if the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was allowed to serve because of this, then no upright minister would be willing to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. , and only cunning and flattering people will take advantage of opportunities and compete for the position of Minister of Household Affairs.

The reason why no political minister is willing to serve as the Minister of Household Affairs is simply because officials who are ordered to serve will probably not be able to enjoy the benefits of official retirement.

Rather than being dismissed by the emperor while serving in the household department, it is better to wait for retirement in other official positions.

After Chen Yiqin finished writing the memorial, he did not intend to discuss it with Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde, but simply sent him to the palace.

Earlier, Chen Yiqin had the idea of ​​becoming an official because of his health. However, there was no one in the cabinet at that time, and Yin Shizhen, Wei Guangde and others were still in the Sixth Department, so he managed to support it until now.

Now that both Yin and Wei have agreed, he already feels that it doesn't matter whether he stays or not.

Moreover, he had vaguely felt that if he continued to stay in the court, Gao Gong might not tolerate the existence of his second assistant.

Yes, Gao Gong may want the position of first assistant, but Li Chunfang seems to be in better shape than him now, so the possibility of giving up his position is extremely slim.

And even if Li Chunfang gives up his position, he, the secondary assistant, should take over in sequence, but that is the position Gao Gong is aiming for.

And if he didn't move where he was, and Gao Gong passed him and sat directly in the position of chief minister, he would have no shame in staying in the court.

Obviously, now both Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin are actually Gao Gong's enemies, those who want to overthrow them quickly.

By using Liu Ti to do this, he could resign and return. As for the cabinet position he left vacant, if His Majesty wanted to fill it, he could recommend Zhao Zhenji to take up the post.

After all, we are all fellow countrymen, and we can still take care of them if we stay in the cabinet.

At Wei Guangde's banquet in the evening, Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen were shocked when Chen Yiqin said that he had handed in a memorial to Liu Tiqian to retain him.

"Brother Yifu, it's not like you don't understand His Majesty's intentions. I told you last year, why are you so confused?

If our cabinet jointly submits the memorial, Your Majesty will not be able to say anything and can only stay in the center. If you submit the memorial alone, I am afraid that His Majesty will summon you to the palace tomorrow to discuss this matter. "

Wei Guangde put down his wine glass and complained angrily.

"Shandai, I just want to be wise and protect myself. You don't need to know the inside story."

Unexpectedly, after Wei Guangde finished speaking, Chen Yiqin said something like this.

Seeing Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen looking at him in confusion, Chen Yiqin added: "To Gao Suqing, I only remind you that if you find that he is dissatisfied with you and even starts to make small moves, resigning decisively and returning home is the right way."

When Wei Guangde heard what Chen Yiqin said, he was extremely horrified. He knew that there might have been many fights between Chen Yiqin and Gao Gong that they didn't know about, and Chen Yiqin had already moved on.

Yin Shizhen didn't expect so much. He was focused on the small actions Chen Yiqin said and immediately asked: "Yifu, did Gao Suqing take action against you?"

"No."

Chen Yiqin shook his head and said.

"Then why did you say that, or was he threatening you?"

Of course Yin Shizhen was dissatisfied with his answer and continued to ask.

Wei Guangde also cast a concerned look at this time, but as if he suddenly woke up, he got up and walked around to disperse the family waiting outside. Then he returned to his seat and asked: "Brother Yifu, what's going on here now?" Between the three of us, if you have something to hide, if you can, just say it and we can work out a solution together."

"I have nothing to hide, and Gao Suqing has nothing to hide from me."

Chen Yiqin shook his head and said.

In fact, after working as an official for so many years, it is absolutely impossible to say that there are no problems at all.

However, Chen Yiqin was very principled in his work and did not do anything outrageous or treacherous.

Seeing the looks in the eyes of Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde, he also knew that if he didn't talk about some things, they might not feel at ease. They might have to go to Gao Gong tonight. After thinking about it, he said: "Some time ago, the official department There are several memorials on the appointment and dismissal of local officials, you must have heard of them."

Hearing Chen Yiqin talk about this, both of them nodded.

Although they had not seen the memorial, Wei Guangde knew that after the interregnum, the Ministry of Personnel made some personnel adjustments to the local chief envoys and other yamen.

Wei Guangde didn't pay attention to the specific person who was replaced because it seemed that there was no one on his line.

However, after hearing Chen Yiqin mention it today, Wei Guangde realized later that there was something to do with Chen Yiqin.

Neither of them spoke, but waited quietly for Chen Yiqin to say what he wanted to say next.

"At that time, I reported on the shortcomings of conservatism in current affairs, and proposed that officials should be carefully promoted and reused in the appointment and removal of officials."

When Chen Yiqin said this, Wei Guangde remembered that Chen Yiqin actually submitted such a memorial some time ago, which was praised by Emperor Longqing and handed over to the Ministry of Personnel and other yamen for discussion.

"It's just that the copy of the memorial arrived at the Ministry of Personnel. I heard that what he told the officials below was that I violated his authority. He should be the one to report these things, so he directly asked the Ministry of Personnel to put my memorial aside. I also asked the officials not to worry about my memorials in the future." "What? How dare you do this, the thief?"

Wei Guangde opened his mouth in surprise, while Yin Shizhen got up in anger and was ready to go to Gao Gong to argue.

Seeing Yin Shizhen about to leave the table, Wei Guangde hugged him.

"Brother Zhengfu, calm down, calm down."

After pushing Yin Shizhen back to his seat, Wei Guangde frowned and said, "I have people in the official department, but they didn't say anything about it."

Wei Guangde's words made Yin Shizhen come back to his senses and said in surprise: "I haven't heard about this either, otherwise I would have known about it a long time ago."

"There are some changes within the Ministry of Personnel, and people outside don't know about it."

There was no anger on Chen Yiqin's face at this time, he just said calmly.

Wei Guangde stopped talking. In the recent period, it seems that he has not received any news from the Ministry of Personnel. It seems that the people he originally accepted have either defected to Gao Gong, or have been marginalized by the adjustment of their positions. Don't know the inside story.

"Have you ever thought that when Gao Gong comes back, he will continue to be a cabinet minister safely?

Are you the same? Are you satisfied with becoming a pavilion elder? "

Chen Yiqin asked at this time.

"Gao Gong wants to replace you as the second assistant. When Li Chunfang retires, he can become the first assistant."

Wei Guangde guessed.

"As long as I am in the court, even if Gao Gong ousts Li's chief assistant, the position of chief assistant will not fall to him. He will make troubles, and the court will have big twists and turns. The court cannot withstand the troubles."

Chen Yiqin said.

"You want to return to your hometown to retire and give up your secondary assistant position, so that he will only see Li Chunfang as your opponent?"

Wei Guangde said tentatively.

Chen Yiqin nodded this time, "You have a lower status in the cabinet than he does. If you are too domineering in the cabinet, even if you win over some officials, you will get more accusations of jealousy, just like before.

Therefore, as long as I give up the second assistant, he will not attack you again, but will shift the target of the fight to the first assistant.

Only by defeating the chief assistant can he replace him. "

"I see."

Wei Guangde nodded, already understanding Chen Yiqin's concerns.

He has secured his position as the second assistant, and in order to attack him, Gao Gong will continue to use small tricks against him, Yin Shizhen and himself, because now in the cabinet, the three people have a very close relationship.

Simply attacking Chen Yiqin would inevitably lead to a joint counterattack by Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde.

So now he is just playing tricks. In fact, it is to let Chen Yiqin know how powerful he is and choose to retreat despite the difficulties.

If he continues to persist, Gao Gong will most likely take action against Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde and cut off Chen Yiqin's arms first for the sake of his future.

As for who to move first, it depends on who gets the handle.

"Brother Yifu, if we join forces to fight back, do we have a chance of winning?"

Wei Guangde was silent for a while and then suddenly asked.

He had already thought about it in his mind. In fact, he had thought about this problem earlier, that is, whether the three of them could arm-wrestle with Gao Gong together.

However, the result of thinking is very pessimistic. Emperor Longqing may finally listen to Gao Gong, although he will not punish them.

Therefore, in Wei Guangde's heart, the best situation for the three of them is to tie themselves together to protect themselves.

But after listening to Chen Yiqin's analysis today, he understood that Gao Gong couldn't tolerate Chen Yiqin, so it wasn't the three of them who jointly dealt with him, but Gao Gong wanted to take action against them whenever he wanted.

"You want to use what Liu Ti did to offend His Majesty, and then petition him to return?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

Chen Yiqin nodded, "This is the most honorable way to leave. Rather than being squeezed away, it is better to leave by yourself."

Having said this, Chen Yiqin looked at Yin Shizhen and then at Wei Guangde before continuing: "Zhengfu entered Prince Yu's palace a little late, so I don't know how great his influence on His Majesty is.

Although His Majesty will not completely listen to him, there are probably many things that he cannot defeat, as long as Gao Gong does not interfere with the Beijing camp. "

The three of them fell silent. Before Gao Gong's return, they planned to divert Gao Gong's attention to revenge on Xu Jie. Who would have thought that they had no intention of fighting Xu Jie at all, and replacing Hai Rui was clear evidence.

They knew that Gao Gong was using this move to ease the relationship with Zhang Juzheng, because at this time Gao Gong's target had been transferred to Chen Yiqin, and he wanted to consolidate his position in the cabinet first.

As for Xu Jie, as long as Gao Gong is still in the cabinet, he can take revenge whenever he wants. As long as he takes action before Xu Jie dies, he can vent his bad breath.

The essence of political struggle is actually the influence on the imperial power, just like the high-end combat power mentioned in fantasy novels.

"Be wise and protect yourself."

Wei Guangde couldn't help but repeat what Chen Yiqin said before. If he was really attacked by Gao Gong, he would probably have to retreat.

Now there is a small group of three people including Chen Yiqin who feels that they cannot defeat Gao Gong. After Chen Yiqin leaves, will the remaining two people be able to defeat him?
Originally, they wanted to discuss a joint petition between the three of them to protect Liu Tiqian, but unexpectedly, a basin of cold water was poured on him.

Of course, Wei Guangde would not fight against Gao Gong at all costs. It was completely meaningless. Being an official was for power and enjoyment, not for making enemies and making it difficult for him to sleep and eat well.

The next day, Emperor Longqing approved Liu Tiqian, the Minister of Household Affairs, to write an official memorial and seize the official position.

He clearly expressed his attitude to the officials in the court and what methods he would use to punish the officials who disobeyed him.

Liu Tiqian was not retired, but dismissed. He could not enjoy the post road or the benefits of official retirement. He was just an official who was dismissed for mistakes.

At the same time, the Qianqing Palace sent eunuchs to the cabinet, returned Chen Yiqin's memorial yesterday, and issued an edict.

Emperor Longqing did not ask Chen Yiqin to go to Qianqing Palace, but sent someone to the cabinet to deal with it.

There is no doubt that this was a huge blow to Chen Yiqin, who showed no mercy at all. This made Wei Guangde have to suspect that Emperor Longqing seemed to have the intention of letting Gao Gong take the position of junior minister.

In fact, even if Gao Gong does not have the secondary assistant position, his influence in the court is greater than that of the first assistant Li Chunfang, just because the cabinet minister Jia Shi is appointed as the official minister.

As for the subsequent memorials to Shi Zhongguangmao, Yushi Lingguan, etc., asking the emperor to withdraw his orders, they were all personally requested by the eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace.

Wei Guangde knew that this was actually a hint from Emperor Longqing that he wanted Chen Yiqin to become an official.