prosperous age

"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.

I know that continuing to delay may only be counterproductive, because there are too many people who oppose it, and most people at this time are used to following others' opinions.

Wei Guangde didn't know what other people thought. He just silently calculated the support votes he could get in his heart, and he had indeed reached half of the courtiers.

There are also some people such as Zhu Heng. Although they were rejected when they lobbied in the past and various preconditions were put forward, Wei Guangde still felt a little lucky in his heart.

Perhaps, during the court discussion, Zhu Heng would choose to support him for the sake of his fellow villagers.

In fact, not all opponents were mindlessly opposed. Most of the opponents only targeted the "mutual market", believing that the mutual market would increase the strength of the Mongols and thus pose a greater threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Do you think their idea is wrong?

In fact, if he hadn't known that the era of the Mongols had passed and Mongolia would be even more declining in the future, Wei Guangde might have stood by them.

Genghis Khan really left a deep impression on people all over the world.

Before he appeared, the Mongols on the prairie were a piece of loose sand, being abused at will by the organized countries around them.

Both the Xixia and Liao Kingdoms, as well as the Jin Kingdom that appeared later, regarded the grasslands as their own pastures and took whatever they wanted.

In order to achieve their goal of long-term control of the grasslands, they also deliberately caused endless killings among the tribes on the grasslands to weaken the strength of the Mongols.

All this happened until the emergence of Genghis Khan. He gathered all the Mongolian tribes on the grassland and established a strong and unified political power. Then he named them one by one, first destroying the Xixia, then the Later Jin, and the Southern Song Dynasty swept across the Eurasian continent.

Although Genghis Khan was already dead when the Mongols invaded the West, they were all because of his influence after all.

It was also because the vast grasslands were no longer big enough in the eyes of the united Mongols to entrust their descendants with enfeoffments, so the Mongols moved westward and established khanates one after another.

In the face of such a powerful enemy, there is nothing wrong with being cautious.

Of course Wei Guangde didn't know about the Longqing Peace Conference, but he knew that the decline of the Mongols was a historical necessity and that they would no longer be a concern in future world history, so he naturally disapproved of the mutual trade.

At the very least, after making peace with the Mongols, Ming Dynasty could take a breath and make some internal adjustments. Wei Guangde had actually set his sights on the white mountains and black waters in the northeast.

The general trend of history is very clear. In the end, the foreigners who came out of that land succeeded in conquering the Central Plains.

And for various reasons of their own existence, they chose to wipe out the fine traditions of the Han people and blindly chose the policy of obscuring the people, thinking that this would ensure their long-term rule of this land.

The humiliation of later generations and modern times was actually caused by this.

In fact, if China's rulers were Han during the Opium War, even if there was a huge technological gap with Western countries, the Han people could quickly learn the advanced Western technologies and catch up or even surpass them.

Just like the Ming Dynasty, they also encountered threats from the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch. However, after several wars, the Han people realized the difference in weapons between the two sides and immediately learned each other's technology. The gap between the two sides quickly narrowed.

After Li Chunfang spoke, Gao Gong quickly expressed his support, followed by Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng. Wei Guangde was a little delayed, but after confirming that the power balance between the two sides was close, he also chose to nod in support.

"In that case, please ask Your Majesty to issue an order to hold a court meeting tomorrow."

Li Chunfang said, then looked at Gao Gong and said, "Only you and I will go to Qianqing Palace to report this matter to His Majesty."

"it is good."

Gao Gong nodded immediately.

"Shandai, what do you think the outcome of the court meeting will be tomorrow?"

After seeing off Li Chunfang and Gao Gong, Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen walked back slowly, chatting as they walked.

"Hard to say."

Wei Guangde could only reply that before the end of the court discussion, anything was possible, what could he say.

"Zhengfu, what do you think?"

Zhang Juzheng asked Xiang Yinshi again.

However, Yin Shizhen didn't have much confidence, so he just shook his head and expressed his attitude.

"Tonight, let's talk to those people again and try to fight for it."

Wei Guangde knew that everyone actually had no idea.

However, as things have developed now, they can only fight one more time.

"Uncle, what do you think?"

Wei Guangde said nothing, but Yin Shizhen asked Zhang Juzheng.

"Half and half."

Zhang Juzheng sighed and said: "We have done so much before, but now it seems that we only have the support of half of the important ministers. The rest depends on how your Majesty summons those nobles to attend the meeting."

Wei Guangde was shocked when he heard what Zhang Juzheng said.

In fact, the most important thing about court meetings depends on the emperor and who he calls to participate.

In the court discussions of the Ming Dynasty, the number of participants was not fixed each time, but was adjusted according to the matters discussed. However, the six ministers, nine ministers, and the chief seal official of Kedao always had fixed persons.

Generally speaking, the six ministers or ministers will be responsible for convening court meetings according to the departments involved in the matter being discussed, and the ministers and ministers usually take turns serving as the convener.

For those matters that require joint meetings of multiple departments or for which it is difficult to clearly define the rights and responsibilities, the Ministry of Personnel is often responsible for convening and presiding over the meetings, and the relevant departments send people to participate in the meetings.

Of course, the emperor, as the final decision-maker of the court deliberations, has the right to appoint some special personnel to participate in the court deliberations.

Although the leadership of this court meeting will most likely fall to the Minister of War, Guo Qian, rather than the Ministry of Personnel, Emperor Longqing has the right to decide which nobles will participate.

When counting the votes previously, Wei Guangde had left out Xungui's side, and he didn't know what the final result would be.

I hope Li Chunfang and Gao Gong will notice this and recommend candidates to Emperor Longqing.

I returned to the duty room and continued working. I don’t know how long it took, but news finally came. Emperor Longqing issued an order to convene a court meeting on Datong, and confirmed the list of people to participate in tomorrow’s court meeting.

There were a total of 44 courtiers and dignitaries, and several cabinet ministers also attended the meeting.

After going through the list carefully, Wei Guangde also calculated it in his mind. It was still half and half, and it seemed that neither side had an advantage.

The location of the court meeting was decided to be the Yangxin Hall, which is next to the Qianqing Palace where Emperor Longqing lived.

When a court meeting is held here, Emperor Longqing can know the results of the court meeting as soon as possible, and can even summon officials and nobles who participated in the court meeting for questioning.

That night, Wei Guangde once again came to the residence of Zhu Heng, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to make a last bid, and other cabinet ministers were doing similar things at this time. After some lobbying, Wei Guangde still failed to persuade Zhu Heng to support the Datong Peace Agreement. He still insisted on the view that only by canceling the "mutual market" could he agree.

When he came out to say goodbye, Wei Guangde turned around and said to Zhu Heng who was sent out: "Brother Shinan, I have said everything that needs to be said. The peace negotiation is beneficial to Ming Dynasty.

As for your worry that the Tatars will take advantage of this to become powerful, it is really unnecessary. They no longer have the glory of Genghis Khan, they don't have it now, and they will never have it again in the future.

If it weren't for their nomadic characteristics, the Mongols would have been wiped out by our Ming Dynasty long ago.

And you know the situation of the imperial court very well. We can no longer afford to delay it. If we continue, in just a few years, not to mention the payment of official salaries, the imperial court will no longer be able to spend money to fix the border.

Brother Shinan, please think again. "

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Zhu Heng, got into his sedan chair and left without waiting for Zhu Heng to return the gift.

Everything that needs to be said has been said, and the final result depends on Zhu Heng's choice. He has no choice.

Although he understood Zhu Heng's proposition, Wei Guangde had run so many times in a row with no results, and it was impossible not to complain.

The last action was actually putting pressure on Zhu Heng, hoping that he would change his tune during the court meeting tomorrow.

After leaving Zhu Heng's house, Wei Guangde went to Dingguo Duke's Mansion.

I came here to cheer up Xu Wenbi and give him guidance on how to deal with the British Duke Zhang Rong tomorrow.

"Don't care how old he is. Remember, he is the Duke of the country, and so are you. Just catch him and criticize him severely as I mentioned before."

It can be foreseen that tomorrow's court discussion will definitely be tense and full of gunpowder.

When dealing with a British prince, it is naturally difficult to use civil servants to refute him. The best way is to let people of equal status to him in the nobility criticize.

Xu Wenbi is the counterattack weapon when Zhang Rong is in trouble.

"How old is he? He is a generation higher than me. If he says this, he will be so angry that it will make everyone look bad.

What's more, Shandai, it's okay to talk about these things in private, but you really have to say them openly."

What Wei Guangde told Xu Wenbi was, of course, the behavior of some members of the Zhang Rong clan in enriching themselves in the border town. It not only pointed out that Zhang Rong's opposition was selfish, but also reminded him that if things go wrong, his clan members will be settled by the Queen.

But Wei Guangde could say these words casually, but asking Xu Wenbi to say them would be too offending.

"We just need to come and apologize afterwards, but he still dares to act like a duke and fight with the Duke Ding's mansion.

Even if you really get into a fight, you still have the support of Duke Wei of Nanjing. If I speak for you in the cabinet, why should you be afraid of him? "

Wei Guangde continued to give Xu Wenbi chicken blood to stimulate him, "If we can knock Zhang Rong out before the voting and let him leave early, that would be the best result."

Today, in front of the official office, several members of the cabinet got together to discuss for a long time and have come up with some countermeasures.

Maybe it was a method that was not on the table in the past, but now it is no longer considered, especially for those older officials and nobles. I just try to stimulate them by trying to stimulate them, and send them to the Tai Hospital at the beginning of the theoretical stage. If you don't let them vote, that will achieve your goal.

Naturally, Gao Gong and others also said that those who support will receive all kinds of support in the future.

Wei Guangde had already told Xu Wenbi about Gao Gong's promise before, in order to reassure him that even if Zhang Rong revealed some bad things about the Dingguo Palace, the "Qingtian" in the cabinet would not take any action.

After leaving Dingguo's mansion, Wei Guangde rushed to Zhu Dashou's mansion without stopping.

Although Zhu Dashou was in charge of the Hanlin Academy, he had brought with him the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, so he was naturally among the court officials this time.

Wei Guangde really regrets that he should have kicked him out of the Ministry of Rites, so that he would not have to face him.

Yes, Wei Guangde's task tonight is to contact and lobby Zhu Heng and the major officials, and to encourage Xu Wenbi to bravely confront Zhang Rong at tomorrow's court meeting.

On the second day, there was indeed a fight between dragons and tigers in the Yangxin Palace.

Several people from the cabinet sat on the chairs placed to the north. The dragon chairs behind them were empty. Emperor Longqing did not come to the scene in person, but a small chamberlain kept informing him of the news.

According to the usual practice, since it involves military and state affairs, Guo Qian, the Minister of War, is naturally responsible for presiding over it.

However, his attitude was clear. Naturally, his opening remarks were biased against Wang Chonggu's policy. However, because he was in public, his words were quite safe. He only said that Governor Wang was deceived and became confused and had thoughts that he shouldn't have.

In fact, behind the scenes, there were not a few people who scolded Wang Chonggu for being a traitor and harming the country, and Guo Qian was one of them.

When Guo Qian said that his uncle was old and foolish, Zhang Siwei, the right servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, immediately couldn't bear it and stood up to refute it, thus kicking off the court discussion.

As expected, Zhu Dashou, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, was not affected by Wei Guangde's lobbying. He soon came to criticize, and then encountered the rebuttal of Wang Xilie, the left minister of the same department.

Officials such as the Vice Minister and the Temple Minister came out one after another to express their positions and attack each other. At this time, except for Guo Qian, who presided over the court meeting at the beginning, everyone else remained silent.

Likewise, several members of the cabinet, except for coming in for a ceremony, sat there like statues, quietly watching these people's speeches.

After the British Duke Zhang Rong could not help but speak out against the peace negotiation, Dingguo Duke Xu Wenbi also immediately stood up to refute.

But after all, he didn't have that much courage, and Xu Wenbi didn't dare to attack Zhang Rong with the words Wei Guangde taught last night. The debate between the two sides only revolved around the peace agreement and did not break out.

The great dramas taking place in the Yangxin Palace were constantly being reported by chamberlains to the Qianqing Palace. The emperor was currently playing with a small and exquisite snuff bottle in his hand, pouring it out from time to time and putting it in the palm of his hand. Take a sharp breath in front of your nose.

The snuff was inhaled into the nasal cavity, causing irritation to the mucous membranes of the nasal cavity. Emperor Longqing couldn't help but sneeze loudly, and then he looked refreshed.

"Okay, keep watching and report again."

With a wave of his hand, Emperor Longqing motioned to the eunuchs below to continue staring at the Yangxin Hall.

I am also silently calculating in my mind. So far, it seems that the fight is evenly matched. It seems that the winner can only be determined by the final counting of votes.

Yesterday, Gao Gong talked about the court meeting in front of the emperor. He believed that it was unfair for cabinet ministers not to participate in the voting of the court meeting. In any case, they were ministers of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel. Naturally, they were important ministers and should have the right to vote.

However, Emperor Longqing did not express his position.

He knew in his heart that even if he wanted to change, it would not be now, but would have to wait for an opportunity later.

The court meetings of the Ming Dynasty had never happened in the past, because the previous dynasty meetings were all held by the prime ministers, and the six ministries and other yamen were not eligible to participate.

The court discussions of the Ming Dynasty focused on form and ignored substance, and many court discussions were more formal.

Because in the past court discussions, the opinions of powerful ministers played a key role in the court discussions, and the opinions of most participants were not fully respected.

However, this time it is obviously different. In terms of high-end combat power, if there are no cabinet ministers to suppress the battle, the opposition seems to have a slight upper hand.

After more than an hour, the speeches ended, and then came the voting session.