prosperous age

Chapter 780 Chapter 879 Cabinet
"Hai Rui?"

Gao Gong's heart tightened when he heard Zhang Siwei say a name with some embarrassment.

It's not that Hai Rui is that great. In Gao Gong's view, Hai Rui is just a person who is seeking fame. Otherwise, after getting the evidence that the Xu Jie family dedicated their land, he should have cut the knot quickly and confiscated the property and taken away the people.

All Xu family members involved in this case should be sentenced to exile.

But Hai Rui didn't do this. Instead, he wanted to bargain with Xu Jie and let him return the land he donated.

However, despite looking down upon him, Gao Gong would not fail to consider Hai Rui's influence in Qingliu.

Hai Rui was highly praised by many scholars in the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Procuratorate and among the people because of the wide dissemination of "Public Security Shu" and the legendary story of carrying a coffin at home waiting for the execution of Emperor Jiajing.

If it were reported at this time that Hai Rui had lost his official position because of his layoffs and redundant staff, Gao Gong didn't know how the outside world would evaluate him.

"Then move him to the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate or the Ministry of Household Affairs. I remember that he was the head of the Yunnan Division in the Ministry of Household Affairs, right?"

Gao Gong understood the importance and did not want to cause trouble during the process of cutting off redundant personnel. After all, this was a very offending matter.

It would also be very troublesome if someone refused to accept his official position and took advantage of Hai Rui to cause trouble.

Zhang Siwei just thought about it briefly and replied: "Hai Rui was the head of the Yunnan Department of the Ministry of Household Affairs at the beginning. That's right. After that, he was the governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Dali Temple and other yamen."

Zhang Siwei said this because he wanted Gao Gong to have a clearer understanding of Hai Rui's official career, so that it would be easier for him to arrange Hai Rui's official position.

But Gao Gong doesn't want to hear this. He has a personality that focuses on me. Since it has been decided that Hai Rui will go to the Ministry of Household Affairs, it will not change.

"It's the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs. When the time comes, he can just post a sinecure there and let him hand over the matters at hand to the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate. From now on, the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate will arrange for the censor to conduct inspections of Nanjing's grain reserves every year. There’s no need for him.”

Initially, Gao Gong wanted to take advantage of Hai Rui's strengths and let him join the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Since you are an upright official, then help me keep an eye on those corrupt officials in Nanjing.

However, Gao Gong suddenly thought of something else. Someone had whispered to him in the past two days that Hai Rui seemed to have found out about his disciple.

Two or three years ago, Gao Gong would not only have not considered excusing his disciple, but would have also passed the news to the Metropolitan Procuratorate for them to investigate strictly.

But that won't happen now. He needs his disciples to build momentum for him.

There will be no good end for a lonely minister. Perhaps the way to be an official is to be in harmony with the light.

You have to think carefully about how to use Hai Rui's knife. If you don't use it well, it won't hurt anyone, but it will be bad if you hurt yourself.

"Okay, Hai Rui will be merged into the Nanjing Household Department. I heard that he is excellent in statistics and calculations, and he can be considered as adapting to people's conditions."

Zhang Siwei didn't say much this time, he just echoed Gao Gong's words and recorded a few entries in the book.

That night, the lights in the lobby of the Ministry of Personnel were kept all night long. Gao Gong led the officials of the Ministry of Personnel to finalize the list of officials who would be dismissed overnight, and then ordered people to copy them, preparing to choose a day to report the matter.

The actions of the officials were not intended to be concealed from anyone. Just that night, the news had spread in various mansions and romantic places in the capital. Some idle officials could not help but feel sad and worried that their official positions were also being abolished. After a while, I went around visiting friends of the same age and asking for news.

However, not many people in the official department knew about these things, so naturally they couldn't find out much. They only knew that the number of officials in some yamen would be reduced, the responsibilities of some official positions would be merged, and the remaining staff would be redundant and would be eliminated.

However, it is not clear from the outside what the specific reform law will be.

Wei Guangde naturally also heard about this. Although Emperor Longqing did not issue an order to the cabinet, the staff was already in a turmoil. It would be derelict of duty if he didn't know about it.

Of course, what he knew was more detailed than what was reported outside, but he didn't care too much.

If there really is a relative who needs care and is on the list of people who have been dismissed from their official positions, then just wait until the dust settles before finding a job for him.

Now Gao Gong has received the holy favor and is taking care of this matter.

Wei Guangde knew that this was Gao Gong's biggest move after returning to the court, and he would never allow anyone to interfere with his good deeds.

If it can't be affected, then just let him do it. After all, people still need to be officials, and we don't want to deprive these people of their official status.

The people in the Ministry of Civil Affairs must be eager for Shangguan to do this once every year. Only then will people cry and beg to find jobs with them, and they won't be able to get the red envelopes.

In the next two days, due to the actions of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, some officials in the court were panicked and worried that they were within the scope of the cuts. Therefore, there was a huge crowd in front of the residences of Li Chunfang, Wei Guangde and others. Many people could not wait to submit their posts. It was a rule to wait for a reply from each mansion before visiting them. I would just wait outside each mansion with gifts.

Of course, such scenes not only appeared in the homes of cabinet ministers, but also in front of the doors of Liubu Hall officials and officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

Many people came to inquire for themselves or their relatives and friends, which made all the senior officials troubled, and they all felt a little bit dissatisfied with Gao Gong in their hearts.

In fact, when you reach the second level, you don't like long lines in front of your house.

It may seem to others that receiving their gifts is a pleasure, but in many cases these gifts are not selfless and come with a price.

At this time, it is impossible not to accept the gift, but there are some things that the host may not be willing to do.

Moreover, the impact of such a scene is also very bad.

In the eyes of later generations, it seems that the front doors of the homes of powerful people in the imperial court in this era should be like this, but in fact it is not.

Even when Yan Song invaded the government and the public, there were not many scenes like this in front of the house.

In fact, only when Mrs. Yan Song celebrated her birthday, Yan Song would open the door and let people who came to celebrate her birthday enter. The scene was like this at that time, and there was an endless stream of people giving gifts and congratulating her birthday from morning to night.

Because at that time, not only the people below gave gifts, but the emperor above would send eunuchs to send a congratulatory gift. Naturally, there was nothing to worry about if it reached the palace.

He and his son Yan Shifan also paid great attention to their birthdays, and they would only do this if they were celebrating their birthdays.

Of course, this was also meant to be shown to Emperor Jiajing, who was a very filial man.

What was the original reason for the Yan family's loss of power?
But it was Yan Shifan who behaved inappropriately during the period of mourning. During the period when his biological mother died, he actually drank alcohol and had sex with prostitutes, which made Emperor Jiajing lose trust in his moral character.

For a normal visit, you would first send a message to the host's family, and the host would reply to the message only if they wanted to see you.

As for Yan Shifan's sale of his official position, he also did it in a pawn shop outside the mansion. How could he blatantly engage in power-for-money transactions at home?

"Haha. Mr. Hu, walk slowly."

After Wei Guangde sent away the last guest, he finally sat down on the lounge chair to take a nap tiredly.

There were so many people in the past two days that he didn't dare to meet them all, but he found it extremely troublesome to meet just a few every day.

But even so, there should not be any dissatisfaction shown on the face, and one must smile and speak well.Lying on the chair, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think about the affairs of the cabinet in the past two days, and couldn't help but sigh.

Yesterday, Chen Yiqin reported, "I saw that the emperor was respectfully planning to govern, and he humbly accepted his duties. All complicated matters were delegated to the cabinet ministers, and he followed the ministers to secretly see the general situation of the country."

This memorial was also Chen Yiqin's last memorial before leaving the court, in which he expressed his thoughts on the government.

Today, Chen Yiqin formally petitioned to become an official.

However, as usual, Emperor Longqing would not agree to his resignation, even if everyone had a tacit understanding secretly.

Sure enough, when he arrived at the cabinet early the next morning, Wei Guangde saw the memorial sent to the palace for review and refused to accept it.

At the same time, there was a memorial written by Zhang Shouzhi, the left minister of the Ministry of Finance, requesting to resign as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance. The emperor refused and ordered him to take up his post immediately.

"Shilang Zhang, I should call you Zhang Shangshu from now on."

Wei Guangde looked at this memorial and smiled at Zhang Juzheng beside him.

"Yes, Shouzhi has taken good care of the household department these days. The household department should be able to be stable for a while."

Zhang Juzheng smiled and said, "I don't understand Yifu's resignation. He has an old physical problem. He can just take a leave of absence in Beijing to recuperate for a period of time. Why beg to return home."

"Brother Yifu is not in good health. He is worried about the long journey back to Sichuan. If he begs to return home when he is really desperate, he is afraid that he will not be able to return home."

Wei Guangde could only respond in a low voice.

It was inconvenient for him to mention Chen Yiqin, Gao Gong, and Emperor Longqing's involvement.

So he turned around and Wei Guangde told the people in Zhongshushe: "Send this memorial to Mr. Chen Ge's house."

After Chen Yiqin submitted his begging memorial yesterday, he went home to wait for news and did not come to the cabinet, so someone had to send someone to deliver the approved memorial to his home.

After dealing with this, Wei Guangde went straight back to his room, waiting for the Zhongshu people to distribute the memorials sent to the cabinet today for processing.

By the afternoon, Wei Guangde heard the news that Chen Yiqin's second begging memorial had been sent to the palace, and Zhang Shouzhi, the left minister of the Ministry of Hubu, had gone to the Ministry of Hubu in the afternoon and officially took office as the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu.

And on the next day, as expected, Chen Yiqin's third petition for rest was once again sent to the palace.

The reason why Chen Yiqin sent out so many petitions so quickly and intensively was because Chen Yiqin did not want to stay in the capital anymore.

These days, there have been a lot of changes in the DPRK due to official affairs.

But while Li Chunfang, Wei Guangde and others' homes were crowded with guests, Chen Yiqin's house suddenly lost popularity because of his begging for divorce.

Perhaps a little sad, except for a few very close people who came to the home, there was no one else.

People take tea to cool down, but that's it.

In this case, why would Chen Yiqin consider prolonging the time? It would be better to complete the three instruments as soon as possible and let Emperor Longqing let him go.

After Chen Yiqin handed over the third begging memorial, Emperor Longqing's criticism finally changed.

"Your Majesty has learned a great deal and has a great talent. He has been a servant early and has a great reputation. This is the residence of the late emperor who served me as a vassal. It has become more prosperous over time. It is also the residence of my heirs. The family members are based on the old school and are promoted to the residence." Lun Pavilion, Cardinal Bizan, you are a colleague and respectful
I have gained the status of a minister, and I have always been loyal and diligent. I rely on my neighbors to figure out the best principles. Gu Chen is slightly ill and has repeatedly begged for comfort and comfort. You Li has violated his elegance and ambition. I specially use Yu to add the minister to the crown prince. The ministers and ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, the rest of the officials are still the same, and they are still given Chiyi dispatched officers to escort them. There are eight ministers who have been given to Yuli, and the officials are given six stones every month to say that I am a good family member.
He went back to the field begging, and he was as tall as any master."

Emperor Longqing's reply was directly written as an edict.

Adding the crown prince and grand master is meaningless to Chen Yiqin who has become an official. However, the company arranged for eight bearers to serve him and gave him a monthly retirement package of six stones, which can be regarded as a great benefit to Chen Yiqin who has become an official.

This is a bonus. As the elder of Shangshu Pavilion, my own retirement benefits are still there, which is much better than most officials who just arrange Chiyi after they retire.

Chen Yiqin can be said to be able to return to his hometown in glory to recuperate. No, it should be said to be recuperating from illness.

Just when Chen Yiqin was packing up his family and preparing to leave Beijing, Wei Guangde was attending another cabinet meeting at Li Chunfang's house.

Although Chen Yiqin devoted himself to his official duties, Gao Gong did not immediately become the second assistant, but it was only a matter of time.

As for today's cabinet meeting, the convener is Gao Gong.

"In the past few days, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has been busy with the layoffs and redundant personnel, and some affairs in the DPRK have been delayed as a result.

The reason why I invite you all to come here today is to discuss and settle everything together, so that your Majesty will be notified tomorrow. "

After everyone arrived, Gao Gong started speaking before Li Chunfang could speak.

Everyone in the cabinet seems to be used to Gao Gong's pretentiousness, their expressions remain unchanged and they are all ears.

"Li Qian, the former right minister of the Ministry of War, was also the right minister of the Imperial Palace and the censor of the capital. He was the governor-general of the military affairs of Guangdong and Guangxi and in charge of food and wages. Wang Xilie, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, was changed to the left minister of the main ministry. Zhu Dashou, a bachelor's student at the Hanlin Academy, became the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. Jin Xueyan is the left minister of the main department, the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy is in charge of the affairs of the academy, and Zhang Siwei, the right minister of the official department, is in charge of the affairs of the ministry."

In fact, these matters have been discussed by the court for a long time, and everyone has no opinions. However, the Ministry of Personnel has not submitted a document, so he has not been able to formally take office.

But in fact, in the Ming Dynasty, many officials were already working in new positions.

For example, Zhang Siwei had been a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy before, but he was already working as the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but he never had the intention to become a full-time official.

Of course, the reason why he was able to go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs was because of Gao Gong.

Gao Gong took a fancy to his talent, so he called people to the Ministry of Personnel to help.

People who were born as bachelors of the Hanlin Academy were appointed as the Ministry of Personnel or the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites when they entered the officialdom. This was also an unspoken rule or a private rule, so no one said there was anything unusual about doing so.

If you do not enter the official position from these two yamen, you will be a little far away from the cabinet. Although it cannot be said that you cannot join the cabinet, these two positions are indeed a fast track for Hanlin bachelors to enter the cabinet.

Gao Gong wants to straighten Zhang Siwei now, which is actually to put him on the road to rapid advancement, so that he can be arranged to join the cabinet as soon as possible and give himself a voice in the cabinet.

Just when everyone nodded and thought that the report of the Ministry of Officials could be reviewed, Gao Gong suddenly said: "After decades of investigation, the number of punishments and eliminations is almost the same, so it is normal to attack. Although the number is sufficient, If there are unworthy people, just ignore them. Even if the number is insufficient, no one can force him to make up for it. This is ridiculous."

Hearing Gao Gong's beginning, Wei Guangde knew that Gao Gong was planning to use the Beijing Police to cause trouble.

What does inspection and elimination mean? There is a fixed number. If there are enough people, even if an official is found to be incompetent, there will be no punishment. If the number is not enough, even if there are competent officials, they will be deducted from the crime.

After Gao Gong finished speaking, Wei Guangde looked around to see what other people's reactions were, when a clerk suddenly came in from outside the door and reported: "Dear elders, Mr. Wang Lin, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Mr. Wei Xuezeng, the right minister of the Ministry of War, have something urgent to see you."

(End of this chapter)