prosperous age

Liu Tiqian was deprived of his official position. Although there was fierce discussion between the government and the public, there was no follow-up after Chen Yiqin, Guangmao, Lingguan and others were issued imperial edicts.

I didn't see that the emperor didn't even show mercy to Chen Yiqin. Continuing to report this matter would only make the emperor unhappy.

It is said that if you want to be promoted in your career, you must first satisfy your leader. If your leader has a bad impression of you, it will be useless even if you have outstanding abilities.

Later generations of jokes "If you say you can do it, you can do it, but if you don't do it, you can do it," "If you say no, you can't do it, and if you do, you can't do it," and horizontally criticized "If you don't accept it, you can't do it." In fact, they describe the rise and fall of officialdom in a very vivid way.

Who is an official in the government and doesn’t want to make progress?

Those who were waiting to die had long planned to be transferred south to Nanjing, and exchanged official positions in the capital for promotion in Nanjing.

The power is reduced, but the level is improved, the outside money is reduced, but the benefits after retirement are also increased.

The competition for the position of Minister of Household Affairs was also different from Wei Guangde's expectation. Neither he nor Yin Shizhen nor Zhang Juzheng had anyone he wanted to recommend.

Because of the previous controversy in the cabinet, news had spread to the outer court, so in order to avoid suspicion, Gao Gong did not intend to recommend it this time.

After all, in the current financial situation, it is not that easy to be the Minister of Household Affairs.

There is a shortage of money everywhere, and sitting in this position means that all the conflicts will converge on this point, and there is no way to get rid of it.

Li Chunfang, on the other hand, is still the same as before, with an attitude of being indifferent to the world.

Li Chunfang has not participated in the division of official positions in the imperial court for a long time, and this time is no exception.

The emperor is still waiting for the cabinet to recommend someone, but no one in the cabinet wants to recommend him, so it ends up being wasted.

However, it is impossible for the Ministry of Hubu to remain without a minister, so Zhang Shouzhi, the left minister of the Ministry of Hubu, temporarily served as the official of the Ministry of Hubu and temporarily took over the seal of the Ministry of Hubu.

After all, the Ministry of Revenue controls the world's money and food, and there are a lot of documents that need to be processed every day, so it is impossible to do nothing.

If the Ministry of Revenue is shut down because there is no candidate for minister, then the entire court may be paralyzed.

What can you do without money?
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

"The position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue has been vacant. Your cabinet has been discussing it for so long. Isn't there a list of names yet?"

Emperor Longqing sat on the throne, looked at the ministers below, and said in a very bad tone.

In fact, he also heard about the results of several discussions in the cabinet through the chamberlain, but he did not expect that no one in the civil and military council of the Manchu Dynasty was eager to take a chance on the high position of second-rank minister, but chose to retreat.

In particular, several ministers in the cabinet did not even have anyone they could recommend at the very least.

Originally, he wanted to balance the position of the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, but he was a little confused and didn't know what to do.

Chief Assistant Li Chunfang glanced sideways at the people behind him. It seemed that no one was willing to come forward to speak. He could not remain silent forever, so he had to stand up and said: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the world's money, food and resources. What is needed is A person who manages money well.

However, there are very few people with this ability in the current government and the public. I have been working hard on this these days, but I have never found the right talent.

It is my fault to live up to His Majesty's entrustment. "

In the past, Yan Song came to ease up in this position, followed by Xu Jie. Now it is Li Chunfang's turn, and he can only learn to use the methods of his predecessors, admitting his negligence first, and retreat in order to advance.

When Wei Guangde heard what Li Chunfang said from behind, he just lowered his head and rolled his eyes, and struck out with a set of Tai Chi. The result was nothing. What he said was equivalent to not saying anything.

In fact, it was not that there were no people in the cabinet discussion, but it was brought up and everyone opposed it.

The person who proposed the candidate was Gao Gong, who recommended Ge Shouli, the censor of Zuodu of the Duchayuan who had just returned to the court, because he had briefly served as the Minister of Household Transfer in the first year of Longqing.

Well, in Gao Gongkou, Ge Shouli has experience as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Such a person can get started quickly when he is transferred to the Ministry of Revenue.

But such an explanation certainly cannot be recognized by Wei Guangde.

It should be noted that Ge Shouli was pushed down because he failed to handle the relationship with his subordinates well.

Let’s not talk about whether he has the ability to manage money. Wei Guangde cannot support Wei Guangde because he insists on stopping the whip before he retires.

Zhang Juzheng also had the same view as him. Because of Wei Guangde's statement, naturally Yin Shizhen and Chen Yiqin also chose to support them.

Suddenly, except for Li Chunfang, the chief minister who always made the last statement, everyone else in the cabinet except Gao Gong opposed it, and naturally it was impossible to continue the discussion.

Another reason why Wei Guangde had to speak was that the Metropolitan Procuratorate's status in his heart far exceeded that of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

The Ministry of Revenue was very important to the imperial court, but the Inspectorate was even more important to him, Wei Guangde.

Without Ge Shouli, Gao Gong would definitely extend his tentacles there again, but he could not think of a suitable successor.

The person who can be the censor of Zuodu in the Shangdu Procuratorate must be someone acceptable to all parties in the cabinet, and there are too few such people and it is difficult to find them.

If Gao Gong is really allowed to take down the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Wei Guangde really has to think carefully about whether to listen to Chen Yiqin and find a reason to return to his hometown after becoming an official.

Anyway, he is still young, so he should avoid high arches during this period. He is too popular, and he will find an opportunity to come back in the future.

Emperor Longqing heard that Li Chunfang had no candidate, so he had to look at Chen Yiqin, who was the second minister in the cabinet after all.

In fact, he was very conflicted about Chen Yiqin. He wanted to push Gao Gong up, but Chen Yiqin blocked Master Gao's way.

Even if he wins Li Chunfang, it is impossible for Gao Gong to directly overtake Chen Yiqin as the first assistant.

Therefore, he had to choose between the two, and the victim was Chen Yiqin.

"Yifu, do you have any recommendations for a candidate? You are also an old man among the cabinet ministers. You should know that there are many officials. Can't you find a suitable candidate?
No matter whether it is appropriate or not, just say it and let me use it at my discretion. "

Emperor Longqing's tone of voice became much gentler now, perhaps because he wanted to give Chen Yiqin some compensation and let him put someone in charge of the household department.

When such a person comes to power, and soon after Chen Yiqin becomes an official, he leaves without a backstage, then he has to obey the emperor's words obediently.

“Your Majesty, among the ministers I am familiar with, there is no one who is good at financial management, which disappoints Your Majesty.

It is your fault for not being able to share your Majesty's worries. "

Chen Yiqin was still the same as in the cabinet. Even in front of the emperor, he still did not recommend anyone to be elected as the Minister of Household Affairs.

Chen Yiqin came out to report to the class, and then fell silent.

Emperor Longqing was a little disappointed, but there was still a smile on his face and said: "Nothing, the Minister of Household Affairs is very important, and it is really difficult to find a suitable candidate." '

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding."

Chen Yiqin bowed and then returned to the train.

"Master Gao, what about you?"

This time it was Gao Gong's turn, and Emperor Longqing had expectations again.

You know, he heard that Gao Gong had mentioned Ge Shouli's name, but Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng and others jointly opposed it.

Emperor Longqing didn't know the twists and turns, but when he succeeded, he had served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, which showed that Ge Shouli was qualified for this position, and now the Ministry of Household Affairs was in urgent need of someone to take up the position. "Reporting to your Majesty, I don't have a suitable candidate."

Unexpectedly, Gao Gong did not announce Ge Shouli's name at this time.

In fact, Gao Gong is not a fool. If he pushes Ge Shouli out at this time, and if the emperor agrees, he will be the person recommended by Gao Gong.

He was not worried that Ge Shouli would commit a crime that would affect him, but he was worried that after his recommendation, the emperor would let someone else recommend the vacant candidate for Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate because he recommended it.

He wanted one of his own to sit in the official position of Zuo Du Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and he must not make a mistake on this point.

Without absolute certainty, he would rather continue to let Ge Shouli sit in this position than give it to someone else.

But in such a large court, you cannot take advantage of it all by yourself. Even if the emperor agrees now, what about the future?

Did he really turn the Ming Dynasty into his arrogant one-note hall?
He Gao Gong thought that he didn't have the ability yet, it was too hateful, and the emperor was also changing.

He had already learned his lesson once, and he would not repeat it again this time.

After thinking about it like this, he simply stopped talking.

Although Emperor Longqing was disappointed, he didn't say anything. He couldn't be allowed to force Gao Gong to name a person with a whip.

Next, he asked Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen for their opinions, but the results were the same. He didn't hear a single name.

"Will the position of Minister of the Ministry of Hubu always remain vacant? If something happens to the Ministry of Hubu, who will bear the responsibility?"

Emperor Longqing's last patience was finally worn away at this time, and he reprimanded loudly.

Everyone in the cabinet headed by Li Chunfang buried their heads and remained silent, allowing Emperor Longqing to vent his dissatisfaction with words.

Everyone actually has people in their pockets, but they really don’t want to get involved in the quagmire of the household department.

The imperial court's deficit was too great, and controlling the household department was simply causing trouble for itself.

"I don't care. The cabinet is limited to recommending a candidate for Minister of the Ministry of Revenue within three days, whether it is your recommendation or the ministry's decision. Otherwise, if there is any problem with the Ministry of Revenue, I will ask you for it."

Emperor Longqing finally calmed down after venting his anger, but the matter still needed to be settled, so he asked again: "Who is in charge of the Nanjing Household Department now?"

Emperor Longqing still doesn't know about Nanjing's Liubu Tang officials, and he still wants to ask his cabinet ministers when he thinks about it. This shows that the Ming emperor really didn't care about Nanjing at all.

Emperor Longqing's words stunned all the cabinet ministers. Nanjing is a place where losers go to retire. Even if they sign documents, most of the time they don't care who is in charge there.

So after Emperor Longqing asked the question, no one could answer it for a while.

It's not okay for the scene to be quiet, because there is no chance that the emperor's anger that has just calmed down will be ignited again.

Wei Guangde thought for a while and said: "The current Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing should be Guo Qian."

Wei Guangde knows what Emperor Longqing has in mind. If you don't intend to recommend the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, then let him nominate one.

However, although it was a casual appointment, of course he could not appoint him randomly, so the first thing he thought of was the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing.

Nanjing has always had a backup team, wouldn't this be useful?

If you can’t find a suitable one in Beijing, then use someone in Nanjing’s position.

However, since Wei Guangde knew about it, he had to make it clear to the emperor in advance to avoid embarrassment to the emperor in the end. After all, he was still a cabinet minister and consulted with the emperor, so he had to do his job well.

So he continued, in fact, it was to introduce Guo Qian to the emperor, and at the same time, he quickly sorted out the memories about this person in his mind.

"Your Majesty, Guo Qian's courtesy name is Mengyang and his nickname is Yiquan. He is from Renqiu County, North Zhili.

In the 17th year of Jiajing's reign, he became a Jinshi and was awarded the title of Chief of the Ministry of War. He served successively as a member of the Ministry of War, a lieutenant in the Ministry of War, and later served as the prefect of Weihui in Henan, deputy envoy of military preparations in Lu'an, envoy of Shanxi Province, Zhejiang Envoy, Jiangxi Right Chief Envoy, and Shaanxi Left Chief Envoy. make.

In the 38th year of Jiajing's reign, he was promoted to the right deputy censor of the capital and governor of Shaanxi. He was also promoted to the left deputy censor of the capital to governor of the military affairs of the three sides of Shaanxi. Later, he was transferred to the left minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War and the minister of household affairs in Nanjing. "

Emperor Longqing was a little dumbfounded when he heard Wei Guangde's introduction. Obviously, although Guo Qian was the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, his resume was purely that of a military civil servant, and he knew more about leading troops in war than economics.

Thinking of this, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but glance at Gao Gong.

"Then how did he become the Minister of the Ministry of Finance?"

Emperor Longqing asked curiously. Obviously Guo Qian's promotion was a matter of the previous dynasty. At that time, he avoided suspicion and naturally did not pay much attention to the changes in court officials. Especially after his status was stable in the last two years, he was even less allowed to make mistakes.

"There were several troubles in the Nanjing barracks, and Guo Qian, then the Minister of War, handled them properly, so he was promoted to minister."

Wei Guangde knew that it was Guo Qian who handled two pay riots in the Nanjing military camp in the late Jiajing period. His father-in-law was made disgraced and basically lost his favor.

If not for this, he would not be interested in the changes in Nanjing officials.

Among the people in the palace, he was the only one who was very concerned about the personnel changes in Nanjing. After all, it was related to his own interests.

"Are there still people in Nanjing who are good at financial management?"

Emperor Longqing continued to ask.

"Your Majesty, I don't know if there are people in Nanjing who are good at managing money. However, Zhang Shouzhi, the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is currently taking the photo of the seal. However, the affairs of the ministry seem to be doing well recently, so why bother paying attention to Nanjing while looking far away."

Wei Guangde said after thinking about it.

Wei Guangde didn't pay much attention to the other people in Nanjing's household department, because he never sent people to the household department when he arranged them.

Everyone knows that Gao Gong is responsible for rectifying the administration of officials, and the household department has the most oil and water, but it is also the easiest to be noticed by Gao Gong.

The people he had in Nanjing would definitely not recommend them back, and he would not recommend them easily now either.

The recommendation at this time is not for Gao Gong's roster. You can slowly check the person recommended by Wei Guangde, and you will be able to find him sooner or later.

"Zhang Shouzhi?"

Emperor Longqing muttered, "Is the household department managed well?"

Jiubian are nine military towns successively established along the Great Wall defense line in the north during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty.

It starts from the Yalu River in the east and reaches Jiayuguan in the west. The northern border defense line that stretches thousands of miles has successively established Liaodong Town, Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Shanxi Town, Yansui Town (also known as Yulin Town), Ningxia Town, and Guyuan Town. There are nine important border defense towns including Shaanxi Town (also known as Shaanxi Town) and Gansu Town.

Facing the rise of the Mongolian tribe, Shanxi was the first to bear the brunt, and Datong Town and Shanxi Town within its territory became strategic locations.

According to records in the "History of the Ming Dynasty", wars occurred almost every year, so there was a saying in Datong that "there is no peaceful age".

However, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who were on duty at Baihu Fort today were horrified to find that a black spot appeared in the sky in the distance.

As time goes by, this group of black spots continues to enlarge and become more divided.
"clang clang"

The warning gong was struck violently, and the messy knocking sound reflected the panicked state of mind of the gong striker. (End of chapter)