prosperous age

"Master, Eunuch Feng from the palace sent someone to deliver a letter to you."

The cold winter has passed, and it is the time when the warmth returns to the cold. Wei Guangde has added some activities these days, which is mountain climbing.

Ding You is at home. In addition to visiting the grave on time, he also climbs mountains around, which can be considered as exercise.

As soon as I came back from outside today, the housekeeper Zhang Ji came over and said.

"What about people?"

Wei Guangde raised his eyebrows when he heard this and asked.

Although he didn't know why Feng Bao wrote to him, he had to pay attention to it.

Is it for this year’s annual ceremony?

During the Chinese New Year, there were a lot of letters sent from the capital, and news from the palace also came.

The most important thing is naturally the news coming from Qingning Palace.

Qingning Palace is the prince's dormitory, located inside the Donghua Gate. This is why the prince's palace is generally called the East Palace, because it is to the east of the Forbidden City.

"Well, let him rest first and treat him well. Remind me later that I want to see him."

Wei Guangde thought that the journey of thousands of miles to Beijing would definitely be tiring, so he was not in a hurry to see him.

By the way, I took a look at Feng Bao's letters and knew what he and I were writing to myself, so that I would have some confidence.

He took the letter from Zhang Ji and went straight back to the study.

When he opened the letter, Wei Guangde couldn't help but frown, and immediately told Zhang Ji, who was standing by: "The messenger sent by Eunuch Feng is his nephew Feng Bangning. Please ask for help, and don't treat the guest lightly."

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Ji immediately agreed, knowing that he had to be careful about this matter.

Wei Guangde attaches great importance to his relationship with Feng Bao, and he knows it clearly.

Unexpectedly, the messenger turned out to be Feng Bao's nephew, so he definitely couldn't wait any longer.

"Sir, Mr. Feng said that he had to take a bath first and then eat something. He may not have settled down yet."

Zhang Ji said hurriedly.

"Go and inquire and arrange the best house for him to live in. Go ahead."

Wei Guangde ordered.

If it was just an ordinary messenger, an ordinary room would be fine, but the situation is different now.

Feng Bao's nephew, to put it bluntly, had a much higher status in Wei Guangde's heart than the prefect of Jiujiang, and was not comparable to the eunuch's confidant at all.

No wonder, for such a big matter as a eunuch making friends with foreign ministers, he definitely cannot arrange for outsiders to deliver letters, and only his own family members can rest assured.

Wei Guangde watched Zhang Ji go out, then lowered his head and continued to read the letter in his hand.

Earlier, Feng Baoxian wrote words of thanks in the letter, saying that Wei Guangde was too polite and it was just because he sent someone to give him a heavy gift before.

Then we talked about the gift Wei Guangde gave to the prince. The prince and the emperor liked it very much. Together with the prince, they built a palace according to the "instructions" before stopping.

Seeing this, Wei Guangde raised his lips and smiled. Isn't this the effect he wanted?

It seems to be very successful and has achieved its goal.

After that, he asked about Wei Guangde's current situation and automatically filtered it out.

Finally, there was another seemingly eloquent paragraph, which talked about some news about the prince and the cabinet in the palace, as well as some matters about the outer court. It seemed to be introducing the situation of the court to Wei Guangde.

At the end of the letter, he seemingly mentioned casually that Emperor Longqing was now taking a double dose of the drug.

Seeing this, Wei Guangde raised his eyebrows again.

Feng Bao said this in his letter, which was actually taboo. If he leaked the emperor's physical condition, an ordinary servant would be beaten to death.

Of course, for most people, when they see this incident, they usually just laugh it off, thinking that the emperor is too romantic.

Why take this kind of medicine? It’s not just for the pleasure of being on the bed.

It's a pity that Wei Guangde is not most people, he has a premonition of something.

Therefore, after reading this paragraph in Feng Bao's letter, he had a hunch that Emperor Longqing's body was probably broken.

Without any worries, Wei Guangde put down the letter and started counting on his fingers.

Prince Zhu Yijun is also ten years old this year. How many years have Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao controlled the government in your memory?

I don’t know, but it should not be short.

Don't forget, during this period, they should have succeeded in ousting the current high-rise palace from power again.

Wei Guangde didn't know the twists and turns, but he felt that it must have taken a lot of time and a lot of tricks to defeat Gao Gong.

Gao Gong was definitely not able to be killed when Emperor Longqing was around. It must have happened after the emperor was gone and the prince ascended the throne.

How old is the average emperor before he takes charge?

Wei Guangde thought for a while, and it seemed that among the previous Ming emperors, only Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne at a young age.

Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne at the age of eight. In the winter of the sixth year of Zhengtong, the reconstruction project of Fengtian Hall was completed. On the first day of November, Zhu Qizhen accepted congratulations from hundreds of officials in Fengtian Hall and issued an edict of amnesty to the world. This move meant that Zhu Qizhen Substantial pro-government.

In other words, if Prince Zhu Yijun wants to take charge of the throne, he will have to be fourteen years old at the earliest.

There are still four years left between now and then.

Is this time enough for Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao to jointly defeat Gao Gong?

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde was shocked again.

Although he knew that Emperor Longqing would not live long, he was not sure how many years he had left.

But if we count it in terms of Emperor Yingzong's time, I'm afraid it will only be one or two years.

After that, there will be three or two years for the two of them to unite and remove the high-gong pit.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but feel nervous. This time was too short, leaving almost no time for himself.

Wei Guangde got up and paced back and forth in the room, thinking that the last time he saw Emperor Longqing before leaving the capital, he didn't look like a short-lived emperor.

Could it be that I thought wrong?

Wei Guangde couldn't help but thought to himself.

Emperor Jiajing also ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor when he was less than fourteen years old. In the first two years, power was still in the cabinet, and then he gradually transitioned.

Isn't it true that Prince Zhu Yijun was not fourteen years old when he came into power?

Or can Emperor Longqing survive for a few more years and then be handed over to the prince smoothly?

But in that case.

Wei Guangde felt a little dizzy. He seemed to have a vague memory that the emperor did not take charge until Zhang Juzheng took charge of the Ming Dynasty.

But even if he is pro-government, he actually does not have many rights. All the rights are actually in the hands of Zhang Juzheng.

It was precisely because of his monopoly of power that Zhang Juzheng achieved an important reform in the late Ming Dynasty. Historical evaluation is that it extended the life of the Ming Dynasty for many years.

Otherwise, if the power was still in the hands of the emperor, Zhang Juzheng would not be able to monopolize power at all.

Thinking about the person he protects, Emperor Longqing can be considered a person who can listen to what he has to say. I gave him many suggestions, but weren't they all ignored?

When the emperor does things, he does not do things based on whether the talismans are in line with the truth, but rather to ensure that the imperial power is stable first. Supporting maritime transportation is actually abolishing water transportation, or the prosperity of the places where the canal reaches will decrease, so the opposition between North Korea and China is fierce.

There are still millions of people living along the river to make a living. For this reason, Emperor Longqing was willing to continue to maintain the status of water transportation rather than transfer grain to the sea. This was to maintain the stability of the court.

There was also the Datong Peace Agreement. The content was obviously not good, but the emperor still held his nose and accepted it.

In fact, this is also to maintain the stability of the north. Losing a little money is actually nothing in his eyes.

At this time, Wei Guangde felt a little overwhelmed and didn't know what to prepare.

The most important thing Feng Bao wrote to himself was to let him know that Emperor Longqing was in bad health.

Now that you know it, what should you do?

After thinking for a long time, Wei Guangde realized that it seemed that he couldn't do anything in his current situation.

Sitting down slumped, Wei Guangde felt a little disappointed.

"master."

At this time, Zhang Ji returned to the study.

"How is that Feng Bangning doing now?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"I just had dinner and now I'm going to bed. I said I haven't had a good rest in the past half month."

Zhang Ji replied.

"Okay, I'll see him tomorrow."

Wei Guangde ordered.

He is not in a hurry. Whether we meet today or tomorrow, it actually doesn't matter much.

"Master, if you don't have any instructions, I'll go down first."

Zhang Ji lowered his hands and said.

"You go ahead, I also want to think quietly."

Wei Guangde waved his hand and asked Zhang Ji to go down too. He was the only one left in the room.

It was already March of the sixth year of Longqing. Wei Guangde sat behind the desk and thought quietly.

If Emperor Longqing dies this year, what arrangements will be made? After all, Zhu Yijun is only ten years old. He will definitely not be the master of the Ming Dynasty. He will have to arrange for ministers to watch over him.

Who will become the Minister of Life?

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng must be on the list. Is Pan Sheng, the Minister of Rites?

Wei Guangde immediately shook his head. Pan Sheng also worked as a lecturer in Prince Yu's Mansion and was considered one of Emperor Longqing's teachers. However, he entered the Prince's Mansion later than Gao Gong, but left earlier.

Although he entered the court early, his development has been relatively slow. He is an embarrassing character who is neither liked by Emperor Jiajing nor valued by Emperor Longqing.

Given the current situation, perhaps Gao Gong does not want anyone else to enter the cabinet, even if the cabinet is currently short of people.

Wei Guangde was thinking about things in the capital in his hometown, while in the office of the chief assistant of the cabinet in the capital, Gao Gong was facing a mountain of memorials and had a headache.

In fact, the memorials are still these memorials, not much more than usual, but there are many fewer cabinet ministers handling government affairs.

If you think about it, you will know that there were as many as six ministers in the Longqing Dynasty's cabinet at most, and one person could handle a dozen of the hundred memorials.

But now, as the cabinet ministers one by one become official or Ding You, only he and Zhang Juzheng are left.

If one person has to handle two or three times the original workload, the work pressure will increase greatly.

Gao Gong had to consider a big thing at this time, which was to increase the number of cabinet ministers.

However, it is not easy to recommend cabinet ministers to Emperor Longqing. At the very least, all conditions must meet the requirements, no one can find fault, and a balance must be considered.

In other words, his Gao Gong's subordinates, or in other words, everyone in the court knew that they were from his side, so he really couldn't recommend him to the cabinet.

As for why, the reason is actually very simple, that is, he is suspected of taking over politics.

Now, the government and the public are already talking about his strength in private, and if he recommends another person who will listen to him in everything to join the cabinet, it will not be a clear excuse for Zhang Juzheng.

It would be difficult for such a recommendation to be passed before Emperor Longqing.

You have to find someone who is qualified enough, who has a gap with his high profile, who has a relatively docile personality, and whose ability to do things is not bad, so it is more difficult to choose.

Gao Gong was thinking about the candidates in his mind, and couldn't help but think of the "same year" who stabbed him in the back because of Yang Bo.

This person is Gao Yi. When Gao Gong entered the cabinet from the Ministry of Rites, Gao Yi was his successor.

But later, after he and Xu Jie had a conflict and Xu Jie petitioned to return, Yang Bo contacted Gao Yi and jointly petitioned the emperor to stay.

At that time, Gao Gongke also submitted his resignation, but Gao Yi did not intercede for his classmate.

Later, when he returned, Gao Yi was worried, so he and Yang Bo submitted their resignations to the emperor one after another.

Let Gaoyi join the cabinet to help you share some of your worries?

Gao Gong was thinking in his mind, but Gao Yi should have returned to Qiantang now and asked someone to ask about his situation first.

Because Gao Gong believed that if Gao Yi was recommended, he would be so frightened when he came back that he would not dare to hook up with Yang Bo again, and he would have to admit his feelings. After all, it was his old classmate who recommended him.

The former Minister of Rites was naturally qualified to be in charge of the cabinet.

Back then, the government and the opposition would not think that he was on the same side as them.

With this idea in mind, Gao Gong selected two people from Qiantang among his disciples, and sent someone to pass the note and asked them to come to the mansion at night to talk. He wanted to know what Gao Yi did after returning to his hometown.

Gao Gong was already determined to replenish the cabinet, but Wei Guangde didn't know this and was still thinking about it, hoping that Emperor Longqing could survive for two more years so that he could return to the capital next year.

No matter when Emperor Longqing dies, as long as he is in the cabinet, he will definitely be one of the ministers who care about life. Then he will not have to worry about being suppressed by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng everywhere.

You know, there is a huge difference in status between the cabinet minister and the minister Gu Ming.

That night, Wei Guangde finally wrote back a letter to Feng Bao in the study. In addition to introducing his situation in his hometown, he also cared about the current situation of the prince. Especially when the prince was leaving the court to study, Wei Guangde also specifically asked him to pay more attention to it. If there was any If you can't get an idea, you can consider discussing with Zhang Juzheng.

This was Wei Guangde's last resort suggestion. He was not in the capital, and Feng Baozhen couldn't discuss important matters with him. These days, there were no mobile phones for instant communication.

When Feng Bao was in the capital, apart from Gao Gong, the only one who could make things happen was Zhang Juzheng. At least he wouldn't get involved with Gao Gong.

Gao Gong sent Xu Jie's son to the army. Based on this alone, Zhang Juzheng could not join forces with Gao Gong, or at least they were at odds with each other.

As for whether these two people would get together and kick him out, he had no choice. At least he wouldn't kick Feng Bao away with a high-gong kick. He didn't even have an ally in the palace who could cooperate. All gone.

The next day, Wei Guangde saw Feng Bangning. His face looked very similar to Feng Bao's. He also had a square face and could be considered handsome. He was not too old now, less than twenty years old.

This time he was sent out to deliver the letter, which could be regarded as Feng Bao's training for him.

After asking a few questions about Feng Bao's health, Wei Guangde suggested that he spend a few days in Jiangxi, such as going to Nanchang Prefecture, where there are many places of interest and historical sites, and Jiujiang Prefecture also has many posthumous works of literati and poets.

"Mr. Wei Ge, when we go south this time, my uncle has said that we will return as soon as possible after the letter is delivered. Let's wait until the next time we have a chance to talk about the trip."

Feng Bangning was not playful, but told Wei Guangde honestly.

"In that case, please ask my nephew to bring a letter back."