prosperous age

"Okay, let's talk about who is going to convince Guo Qian, who is going to go to Zhang Shouzhi, and Ge Shouli. Zhu Heng also needs to talk about it, alas."

Chief Assistant Li Chunfang said.

Among the nine ministers, four people have made it clear that they are opposed to Wang Chonggu's proposal. Although Zhu Heng agreed with conditions, his condition was actually no different from opposing it.

"Yeah, we still have to solve the problem."

Gao Gong echoed.

In fact, this matter was approved by the cabinet from the beginning because of his, Wei Guangde, and Zhang Juzheng's support.

At that time, they only considered the benefits of this matter to the Ming Dynasty, but underestimated the opposition of the ministers. Now that they think about it, it was a mistake.

"Shandai, it's up to you to talk to Shangshu Zhu.

You are fellow Jiangxi people, so he can't and won't let you in. "

Gao Gong looked at Wei Guangde and made arrangements immediately.

After talking about Wei Guangde, Gao Gong looked at Zhang Juzheng again, and after thinking for a moment he said: "Uncle, it's up to you to persuade Zhang Shouzhi. The focus should be on finances, and also talk more about the tragic situation of the border residents who have lost their lives due to the war between the two sides. .

Zhang Shouzhi is a very stubborn person who tries his best to be gentle. "

At this point, Gao Gong thought to himself again and said, "The only ones left are the old stubborn Ge Shouli and Guo Qian."

Gao Gong looked at Li Chunfang fiercely, "Master Chief Assistant, which one do you want to persuade? I'll try again with the remaining one."

"I'll go find Ge Shouli. If Guo Qian is there, let Su Qing talk to him."

Li Chunfang thought for a moment and then said, "I went to Guo Gan's place last time and it was already very unpleasant.

There are only a few left, alas."

This sigh actually revealed that Li Chunfang was extremely unconfident in convincing these people.

After all, these people and the cabinet ministers have all spoken to each other one by one, but the results are not satisfactory, and their positions have not moved at all.

"Don't worry too much, Mr. Li. I have calculated the number of support votes from our side. If His Majesty convenes a court meeting now, the winning rate is still half."

Gao Gong said.

Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen all nodded.

Although the contacts with the courtiers these days have no effect on the few ministers, the effect on the ministers such as the minister and the minister below is still significant. Some people have expressed their willingness to support the cabinet's decision.

When the number of people is totaled, it has reached half of the courtiers.

"We have to find ways to change the court council system in the future. Our cabinet ministers all hold the title of minister, and they should also have the right to vote in the court council."

Gao Gong was not thinking about this, but he had opinions on the original court discussion system of the imperial court, and planned to find opportunities to change the rules in the future.

The court meeting can be said to be the easiest and most authoritative vote in the assembly meeting.

The results of the vote not only had a great impact on the emperor's decision-making, but even their cabinet discussions could only be ranked at the back.

In other words, the cabinet must also obey the results of the court meeting.

Obviously, Gao Gong is now dissatisfied with this.

If the system is unfavorable to him, he will look for opportunities to change it and turn it into a system that is beneficial to him.

However, the court discussion has a great impact after all. If the opportunity is not suitable, it is not easy for him to mention it, otherwise it may backfire and involve himself.

After Gao Gong finished speaking, Li Chunfang, Zhang Juzheng and other ministers subconsciously glanced at Gao Gong, and then quickly looked away.

You know, when Sanyang took control of the court, he never had any plans to reform the court. Unexpectedly, Gao Gong had such thoughts in such an environment.

The court meeting is actually a means and a restriction for the courtiers to supervise the cabinet. If Gao Gong really brings it up, let alone the emperor's reaction, the courtiers below are afraid that many officials who originally supported the cabinet will change their attitude.

However, given Gao Gong's strong position in the cabinet, even though he said so, no one stood up to correct him.

There is really no need to get entangled with him on this matter. After all, it seems that Gao Gong just made it temporarily. Maybe he will find something wrong after a while, and he will not mention it again in the future.

If you really stand up and correct your mistakes, you can't say it's hard to be stubborn, but you have to push his ideas, that's troublesome.

When the Ming Dynasty cabinet was worried about Datong affairs, Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, and Fang Fengshi, the governor here in Datong, did not have such anxiety, but they were also in a very bad mood.

Of course, they were completely unaware of the turbulent atmosphere in the capital, otherwise they would certainly not be able to maintain their current good mood.

They are also worried that Bao Chongde and others sent out have not yet received any news.

The strategy they discussed was supported by the cabinet, and in Datong they were the ones who kept their word. Even if there was a patrol censor, they were not afraid.

What's more, many things they did not make everyone in Datong City aware.

But without Anda Khan's approval, in fact, their first step plan was considered bankrupt.

If such a situation were reported back to the court, they were worried that their future would be affected.

I don't know the situation in the capital, but the cabinet has a very important influence on their future career. If the cabinet ministers think that their talents are insufficient, then if they leave Datong in the future, they may have to go to Nanjing to retire and not be able to serve as officials in the capital.

"It's been so many days. Why haven't Bao Chongde and the others returned yet? Even if they just sent someone to deliver a message."

Fang Fengshi sat on the right and said to the governor Wang Chonggu.

Wang Chonggu actually felt uneasy, but he would not show his inner anxiety in front of Fang Fengshi. Instead, he calmly replied: "Don't be impatient. It's such a big thing, even if he brings our thoughts to me." Dahan, he would think about it again and again before making a decision.

What's more, the grassland is vast and boundless, and it may not be that convenient to send messages.

What I'm more worried about now is whether they have conveyed the words.

You know, over the years we have been at war with each other, the hatred between the two sides has become very deep. If you are not careful, you may not be able to do anything when they come into contact with those herdsmen.

Wang Chonggu was indeed worried about the safety of Bao Chongde and his party, but it was definitely not about their life and death, but he was worried that the words did not reach the ears of An Dahan and wasted time in vain.

"My Lord Governor, why don't you send news to the border towns so that they can ask questions when they see the Tatars attacking?"

Fang Fengshi had a good idea. When the Tatars came to harass the border fort, he asked the sergeant to ask the envoy for news.

Wang Chonggu just glanced at him, then shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Why did they take a detour to Xuanfu to exit the customs in the first place? It was to avoid the Tatars in front of them and go directly to the hinterland of the grassland, as close as possible to Anda Khan's camp, through the grassland The herdsmen on the mountain got in touch with Ada Khan.

Bao Chongde's idea was right, so I recognized his opinion and let him do it.

If you ask the Tatars in front of you, what they are thinking about right now is not talking about anything, but just killing and looting.

If Bao Chongde and the others really went north from Datong, it might be really bad. "

"But it's been so many days, do you want to send another group of people to have a look?" Hearing the words "more bad than good", Fang Fengshi couldn't help but think a little more, thinking that maybe it was like this.

The life and death of Bao Chongde and his party are uncertain, but they can't just sit around and wait for time to slip by. It feels like they should do something.

"Do you have a suitable candidate?"

Wang Chonggu just frowned slightly and agreed with Fang Fengshi's point of view. They couldn't afford to waste time, so they had to get in touch with Ada Khan as soon as possible.

Regardless of whether he agrees to make peace or not, at least he knows the other party's attitude, and they can reply to the capital this morning.

Fang Fengshi shook his head at this. In fact, he only arrived in Datong for half a year before Wang Chonggu. In addition, he was surrounded by many administrative talents. It was no problem to calculate taxes and count the population of land. Even if it was a criminal name They are also quite familiar, but if they are asked to go to the prairie to find An Dahan, they may be scared to death first.

As for my standard camp, it is already small in scale, with only a few hundred people. They usually dress well, but in terms of brave and careful talents, I really haven't found a single one.

Therefore, at this time, Fang Fengshi still looked at Wang Chonggu, hoping that he could have capable people to send out to carry out this errand.

"Let me think about it."

Wang Chonggu had no choice but to answer.

This lasted another two days. During these two days, memorials sent to the Qianqing Palace came like snowflakes. The attitude of the cabinet was no longer a secret after so many days.

Some officials who originally had a wait-and-see attitude, no matter what their purpose, wrote memorials to express their attitude.

There were those who supported the Datong Peace Agreement and those who opposed it.

Although the memorial did not dare to criticize the cabinet ministers, they all pointed the finger at the initiators of the incident, Wang Chonggu and Fang Fengshi, and accused them of being traitors and harming the country.

Emperor Longqing, who had remained silent before, seemed a little panicked when he saw so many memorials.

This time, more officials attended the memorial than in any other event before. Not only the officials from the Department of Science and Technology were full of firepower, but officials from various yamen in the imperial court also chose to take a stand at this time.

In addition, nobles who rarely interfered in state affairs also suffered from the consequences, and they all came forward one after another.

These memorials were also clearly divided into two groups, headed by British Duke Zhang Rong and Dingguo Duke Xu Wenbi, each of whom accused the other of harming the country.

Emperor Longqing's original intention was actually persuaded by Gao Gong, Wei Guangde and others. What is the most important thing for the court?
It's money.

As the confrontation with the Mongols continued, the court often had to invest large sums of money in border towns. However, the reality was that the court could no longer support such large military expenditures.

If we can take Han Naji's consignment to the Ming Dynasty as an opportunity to reconcile with Anda Khan, it would be the best thing to do, and we can save the deteriorating Ming Dynasty's finances.

However, Emperor Longqing's concerns were also confirmed in these opposition memorials, and there were many officials who held the same idea as him.

At first, Emperor Longqing was actually a little complacent, because he felt that these officials had gone ahead, so he did not agree to the matter at that time.

But after reading too many memorials like this, a person's attitude will inevitably be affected by the memorials, and he will also begin to become suspicious.

Is this cabinet decision right or wrong?

All the ministers in the cabinet now are his trusted ministers, but after Emperor Longqing ordered the memorials sent to be sorted into categories, it can be seen that there are more opponents than supporters.

Of course, he also noticed that among the important officials of the third rank and above in the imperial court, the supporters and opponents were almost equal.

By analyzing the source of the memorial, he also found that the mid- to high-level officials were roughly divided [-]-[-], while the opponents were mostly concentrated among low-level officials.

Most of these people have not been in the official career for a long time, so they still hold the idea in their hearts that "those who are not from my race must have different thoughts" and have not yet formed the "interest first" mentality in official circles.

What's more, most of the officials below don't know much about the actual financial situation of the imperial court.

Although everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty is in financial difficulty, these people do not understand the extent of the difficulty.

"A court meeting?"

An idea appeared in Emperor Longqing's mind, and then he shook his head.

If we really want to hold a court meeting, we still don’t know how much trouble it will cause. And judging from the current situation, the opposition is far greater than imagined, and it will definitely not pass.

Moreover, among the opponents, those scientific officials are the most knowledgeable.

If we really want to discuss this matter at the court meeting, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to go to court.

If you can't go to court, let the cabinet convene a court meeting.

He thought so, but when Emperor Longqing looked at those memorials, he knew in his heart that even so, the cabinet might not be completely sure of victory.

This is the reason why he has not issued an order these days.

He knew that cabinet ministers were moving around and persuading officials, just like the opponents. In order to unite more people to oppose the Datong Peace Agreement, some people jumped up and down violently for this reason.

Dongchang and Jinyiwei both came to him and asked him whether this was considered a clique and whether they should deal with these people.

However, the timing was a bit delicate, so Emperor Longqing did not ask the factory guards to suppress the matter.

When it comes to scholars, sometimes the more you suppress it, the stronger the backlash will be.

If they suppress their alliance here, the cabinet ministers over there will be unable to sit still and come over to intercede with these people.

The plea may not be sincere, but they will do it anyway because they are all scholars.

"We can't continue. Those people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Hanlin Academy are collaborating with each other every day, creating a chaotic atmosphere in both the government and the public."

Yin Shizheng said.

He had once been in charge of the Hanlin Academy, so he wanted to use his previous official power to make those in the Hanlin Academy shrink back. However, he forgot that the current situation was different from the past, and instead he was squeezed out by all the big officials.

To be honest, in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, low-level officials are really not afraid of high-ranking officials. Except for those who only want to get promoted and make a fortune, they will do everything possible to please and fawn on superior officials.

Wei Guangde went to Zhu Dashou of the same year, but he also failed to convince him. Even though Wei Guangde explained to him clearly the financial difficulties of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Dashou remained unmoved and dealt with him with the words "If you are not in his position, you will not seek political affairs." It's past.

From this, Wei Guangde also saw that this Zhuangyuan scholar was still dissatisfied with his rapid promotion, and this was probably the reason for today's incident.

Think about it, he was the number one scholar appointed by the emperor back then, and Wei Guangde was Chuanlu.

But now, Wei Guangde has become a senior minister, while he is just a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy who is in charge of the affairs of the Hanlin Academy. It can be said that there is a huge difference.

And Wei Guangde just thought in his heart that whoever he wanted to join the cabinet could not be Zhu Dashou.

"Your Majesty, please issue a decree and hold a court meeting. What do you think?"

Li Chunfang also saw that the current direction of the court was wrong, so she suggested.

(End of this chapter)