prosperous age

Wei Guangde came back from the cemetery. As soon as he stepped into the door of his house, a family member came up and whispered: "Master, Zhu Shangshu from the capital has sent someone to deliver a letter." ’

After hearing Zhu Heng's letter, Wei Guangde raised his eyebrows.

Before he left the capital, he made an agreement with Zhu Heng and others not to exchange letters unless there was any major emergency.

In fact, if something goes wrong with letters, it will be very troublesome.

Think about it, the Yan family and Hu Zongxian were all in trouble because of the preserved letters.

"Where are the people?"

However, Wei Guangde still asked.

The servant pointed to the side room next to him, "Inside."

Wei Guangde turned around and smiled at his wife: "Madam, go to the back to rest first. Thinking about it now, you must be tired."

Xu Jianglan followed Wei Guangde. Naturally, she heard the servant's report just now and knew that Wei Guangde was busy with something. She immediately nodded and said with a smile: "I will go back to rest, husband, don't be tired."

After speaking, Xu Jianglan bowed slightly to Wei Guangde, and then led the maid and mother-in-law to the backyard.

After Wei Guangde watched the people leave, he turned around and entered the side room next to him.

While the conversation was happening outside, the messenger from the Zhu Mansion in the room had already heard it and was standing by the door with his hands hanging down.

Wei Guangde saw him when he entered the room. He just nodded slightly and then found a chair in the room to sit down.

Wei Guangde had the impression that the messenger was Zhu Heng's long-term attendant, and he seemed to be from Jiangxi. Perhaps he was someone who had been in debt for a long time and was running errands to deliver letters.

"Mr. Wei Ge, this is a letter from my lord, Xiao Ming sent it to me."

The messenger saluted Wei Guangde before standing up, taking out a letter from his arms and holding it in front of Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde reached out to take it, checked that the seal was intact, then tore open the envelope, took out the letter inside, and asked casually: "Is Mr. Zhu in good health? I heard that the Yellow River burst again some time ago. I think he must be very busy with official duties now. yes."

While outside the door, Wei Guangde heard that it was Zhu Heng's messenger, and naturally thought that Zhu Heng was in trouble in the capital because of flood control, so he said this.

"Fortunately, the Ministry of Industry has sent people to supervise the work and dredge the waterway as soon as possible to ensure the safety of water transportation. I think everything should be fine soon."

The messenger answered cautiously.

"That's good."

When Wei Guangde was speaking, he had already opened the letter and read it, then frowned.

The content of the letter was very different from what he thought. It was not about the Yellow River, but the fierce confrontation between Gao Gong and Yin Shizhen in the cabinet.

It can be seen that the current situation seems to be very unfavorable to Yin Shizhen. Zhu Heng was worried that Yin Shizhen would do something unwise, so he wrote a letter asking him to contact him as soon as possible to comfort him.

"When you return to Jiangxi this time, are you going to Mr. Zhu's hometown?"

Wei Guangde's face had returned to his normal look, and he asked seemingly casually.

"When I return to Jiangxi this time, the master asked me to deliver the letter to Mr. Ge as soon as possible. I also have letters from home to be sent back."

The messenger replied respectfully.

"Well, you can stay at my house and rest for a day before leaving. I think it will be quite strenuous to go south this time."

Wei Guangde said, and then shouted to the door: "Here comes someone."

Now that water transportation is cut off, the only way to go from the north to the south is by horseback and carriage. It is estimated that you have to go to Huai'an to get on the boat and take the canal back.

The person who came in this time was Zhang Ji. He was busy with matters in the mansion earlier, so he didn't greet the master in front of the mansion.

After finishing what I was doing, I came here and stayed outside for only half a cup of tea.

"Get him a room."

Wei Guangde saw it was Zhang Ji, so he gave instructions.

Zhang Ji called a servant from outside and took the messenger down to rest.

"I will give him ingots of silver as a reward in a while, and I will be here from Beijing in a few days. It will be difficult for him."

Wei Guangde said to Zhang Ji who stayed behind.

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Ji agreed and continued to stand beside him respectfully with his hands down.

He knew many things about Wei Guangde, and he also knew that if there was no big event in the capital, no letters would come to him.

Now that he is here, it means something big must have happened in Jingli.

But then, Zhang Ji didn't hear anything else Wei Guangde said. When he looked up, he found that Wei Guangde was bowing his head in deep thought.

Zhang Ji did not dare to disturb Wei Guangde's thinking, so he had to quietly exit the door.

At this time, Wei Guangde was also thinking about the war between heaven and man. Zhu Heng explained the situation in the capital in his letter. It was not only the battle in the cabinet, but also Gao Gong who wanted to transfer Tan Lun back to the Ministry of War to fight against Yang Bo. He didn't mention anything about his own affairs at all.

Come to think of it, the current situation in the Ministry of Works, whether Gao Gong or Zhang Juzheng, is in no mood to find fault, just like the Ministry of Households.

If we really win it, it will be a hot potato, and we are just asking for discomfort.

However, Wei Guangde thought for a moment and figured it out. Apart from writing letters to Yin Shizhen to calm down, it seemed that he couldn't get involved in other matters.

When he was in the cabinet, it could be said that it was for the convenience of placing Tan Lun in the office of governor of Jiliao. Now Gao Gong is in power in the cabinet. He put his own people in the cabinet, which seems to be an unspoken rule of officialdom. There is nothing to say.

There is nothing wrong with the old saying that once the emperor is equal to the courtiers, there is actually nothing wrong with it.

Wei Guangde didn't know that the famous cabinet boxer in the Ming Dynasty was Yin Shizhen. He was still thinking about how to word his words so that Yin Shizhen could listen to his words.

Yes, Yin Shizhen has a bad temper and a very straightforward personality. He knows that such people tend to accept death and do not listen to advice.

If he really made up his mind to fight Gao Gong and Zhang Siwei to the end, it would be hard to persuade him.

Wei Guangde was full of deductions in his mind, but soon he realized another problem.

I tried to persuade Yin Shizhen to be patient, but what would be the result?

Will the high arch be closed as soon as it is good?

Or continue to be provocative without restraint?

I was able to persuade Yin Shizhen once, but if Gao Gong continued to tease, the clay figurine would also be very angry. He might not be able to suppress it the second or third time.

Zhu Heng's letter actually made it clear that Gao Gong seemed to want to promote Zhang Siwei, not just in the official department.

Moreover, now that Li Chunfang has taken office, there are only three people left in the cabinet, which is the smallest number of cabinet members since the Long Qing Dynasty.

There are rumors that Yang Bo is willing to come back, maybe because he is competing for a position in the cabinet.

Yang Bo's defense of Shanxi officials is actually similar to what he is doing, trying every means to improve the official position of his fellow villagers.

What was it like when Yan Song was in court?

Regardless of whether they are with him or not, as long as they are officials from Jiangxi, as long as they can do things, they will not hesitate to promote them. That is why nearly half of the officials from Jiangxi appear in the upper echelons of the Ming Dynasty.

Apart from anything else, as long as you are a fellow countryman, you should leave more or less leeway in doing things, and it is impossible to trick you into death.

Huo Yi, whom Yang Bo originally liked, is no longer in business, but now Gao Gong likes Zhang Siwei. The old guy may not only want to bet on his future again, but also wants to return to the capital to help Zhang Siwei. You must know that Zhang Siwei's conditions are much better than Yang Bo's. He also followed the standard path of promotion to Hanlin officials. He has already become the minister of the Ministry of official affairs. He is halfway through the process and can step into the cabinet at any time.

If the cabinet is short of people, the ministers and ministers from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel are the first candidates to join the cabinet.

Let Yang Bo be the Minister of War and take over Guo Qian's position. Gao Gong's move is not a bad move.

Not only was he unwilling to give up the power brought by taking charge of the civil service, but he was also able to suppress Yang Bo.

"No."

Wei Guangde exclaimed in his heart. He stood up suddenly and paced back and forth in the room.

Zhu Heng seemed to be at odds over the matter of Yin Shizhen, and he couldn't give in in front of Gao Gong this time.

Suddenly, Wei Guangde realized that he had been influenced by Zhu Heng's thinking. In this case, Yin Shizhen had to fight back hard.

Don't be afraid of making a big fuss. If it does, the emperor will step in and take care of it.

Gao Gong was the emperor's teacher. Yin Shizhen also had this title, but his status was not as high as his.

When two of his teachers were fighting, the emperor could only come out to break up the fight. No matter how big the fight was in the end, it was nothing more than giving each other fifty blows and letting it go.

With an idea in mind, Wei Guangde quickly considered it in his mind and thought it was feasible. He immediately stepped out of the wing and went straight to his study.

Zhang Ji was still waiting outside, watching Wei Guangde come out without saying a word, and followed him.

After a few steps, they arrived at the study. Wei Guangde had prepared pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and Zhang Ji had already started grinding ink for him.

Zhang Ji also studied at Master Sun with Wei Guangde, so he was certainly familiar with doing these things.

He can't write articles, but he still has no problem with reading. He can barely write, but the housekeeper doesn't want beautiful articles, so he can write and do math.

This time, Wei Guangde quickly wrote a few letters as soon as he started writing, not only to Yin Shizhen, but also to Zhu Heng and the Kedao Yanguan from Jiangxi in the capital. The purpose was naturally to ask them for help and unite their respective departments. Friends and colleagues helped Yin Shizhen to set up troubles.

The battles between civil servants are nothing more than these, attacking and killing with words.

Science and technology, isn't it just about hearing about something, using everyone's intelligence and imagination, whether it's framed or falsely accused, that's all.

In his letter to Yin Shizhen, Wei Guangde also deliberately mentioned to him that he wanted to find a way to stimulate Mr. Xu Ge of Huating so that Zhang Juzheng could no longer agree with Gao Gong.

When the time comes, let Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong fight for Mr. Xu Ge's sake.

It was difficult for Yin Shizhen to carry Gao Gong alone, so he made allies for himself, and allied with Zhang Juzheng to deal with Gao Gong together.

It can be said that at this moment, Wei Guangde was like a man possessed by Zhang Yi and Su Qin, making full use of the strategy of combining vertical and horizontal lines.

Wei Guangde even thought of how to stir up Gao Gong's nerves. He threw the things he had collected to Gao Gong's disciples, and they would naturally inform Gao Gong to search further. They were not afraid that they would not be able to find those belonging to the Xu family. Breaking things.

After finishing the letter, Wei Guangde checked it again and found that there were no errors or omissions. Then he nodded with satisfaction and put down the pen.

I prepared several more envelopes, and after the ink dried, I put them into several envelopes, sealed them, and painted both ends with lacquer.

"Zhang Ji, arrange for someone to leave for the capital immediately and deliver the letter according to the name on the envelope."

Wei Guangde ordered Zhang Ji, who had been waiting on the side.

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Ji took the stack of letters from Wei Guangde's hand and immediately agreed respectfully.

"Go quickly, remember, it's an urgent matter. Prepare more money for me and send it to the capital as quickly as possible."

Wei Guangde ordered.

Generally speaking, you know where to go to deliver a letter, how much time it takes, and how much money you need to bring.

However, this time the situation was special. Wei Guangde didn't mind spending a little more money. As long as the letter could be delivered one day in advance, he would feel at ease.

But what he didn't know was that it was too late to fly to the capital, let alone a boat or a fast horse.

Emperor Longqing was immediately unhappy after seeing Yin Shizhen's resignation letter that night. He did not approve the red card and sent him back, but chose to stay in China.

Although the Yin family sent it directly to the palace, the memorial passed through the clerk's office and the ceremonial supervisor, so the news could not be hidden.

The news of Yin Shizhen's resignation spread throughout the officialdom of the capital that night.

The incident happened so fast that many people had not yet figured out how to take sides. It seemed that one of the parties involved wanted to leave.

Although he was retained, Yin Shizhen now figured it out and did not miss any power or position at all.

After waiting at home for two days without receiving any news, Yin Shizhen wrote another memorandum asking for his resignation. This time he also wrote a note to Chen Hong, asking Chen Hong to help him say a few words to the emperor.

He is not afraid that Chen Hong will help Gao Gong suppress him. Everyone has something that the other party is worried about.

As for the door of the house, Yin Shizhen has been closing the door to thank guests since he returned home that day. He has not seen anyone. Even if his fellow villagers come over, he just sends them a note.

He really didn't plan to meet anyone now. He was worried that if he met them at this time, he would be implicated and suppressed by Gao Gong after he left.

The only person who entered the gate of Yin Mansion was the eunuch from the palace. He came to comfort him on the order of the emperor.

Similarly, a eunuch came to Gao Gong's house, and he had the same mission.

Therefore, Gao Gong appeared in the cabinet again the next day after the incident, but Yin Shizhen did not.

In the next few days, Yin Shizhen continued to submit petitions to resign.

The first memorial was retained, the second memorial was rejected, and when the third memorial was delivered to Emperor Longqing, Emperor Longqing realized that Yin Shizhen was serious and didn't want to do it anymore.

It is impossible to say that Emperor Longqing did not have any complaints about Gao Gong in his heart. After all, in his heart, the stability of imperial power was more important than Gao Gong.

Gao Gong was domineering in the cabinet and more or less threatened the imperial power.

But now the situation is obvious. If you have offended one, you cannot offend the other.

In any case, the government still needs them to take care of it.

Although there are many people in the court who want to join the cabinet, there are not many who can trust him with important matters.

Yu Zhuan's old friends were the ones he felt most at ease with.

Emperor Longqing understood this truth. Now he needed to consider who would fill the vacancy after Yin Shizhen left.

It is impossible to punish him. Yin Shizhen beat Gao Gong. Both of them are close ministers, so he will never make any punishment.

Therefore, Emperor Longqing approved Yin Shizhen's third memorial, and granted him a post horse, and all the honorable ministers should have the same standards.

However, what Gao Gong, Chen Hong and others did not know was that Meng Chong's right-hand son went to Sichuan with Emperor Longqing's secret letter before this memorial was issued.

With Yin Shizhen gone, Wei Guangde and Ding You would definitely not be able to recover, so he looked at Chen Yiqin.

Emperor Longqing felt somewhat guilty about Chen Yiqin's departure, so he wrote a letter to express his greetings and check his attitude to see if he still wanted to come back. (End of chapter)