prosperous age

Chapter 820 909 Letter from Jiujiang

In the Qianqing Palace, after Gao Gong reported Du Huazhong's impeachment memorial, he had no intention of leaving, because he still had something to settle with Emperor Longqing today.

"Your Majesty, there are only two ministers in the cabinet now, Chen and Shuda. The government affairs are really busy. Please consider adding more cabinet ministers."

Gao Gong glanced at Zhang Juzheng and said.

"Add cabinet ministers?"

Emperor Longqing lowered his head and thought for a while, then looked up at Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng and said: "You two are working together to assist the government, there is no need to add more people."

Hearing Emperor Longqing's words, Gao Gong didn't know whether to be happy or unhappy for a moment.

The emperor entrusted the power to himself and Zhang Juzheng in the cabinet. On the one hand, this showed the emperor's trust in them, but on the other hand, it also placed a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Dealing with government affairs during this period of time has made Gao Gong feel a little tired.

Although he wholeheartedly wanted to help the country, he had to be physically able to support it.

Although there is no such thing as "the body is the capital of revolution" in this era, Gao Gong understands it deeply.

What's more, having been fooled once, Gao Gong already had a deeper understanding of the power of cabinet ministers.

It seems that he and Zhang Juzheng controlled the power of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, but don't forget the Ke Dao Yan Guan group and how Gao Gong was driven away in the first place. In fact, a very important step is impeachment.

As long as there is an official to impeach him, then according to the rules, he has to go home and write a statement to explain the responsibilities of Ke Dao.

In other words, if someone impeached him, he would go home and write a memorial to explain himself, and the power of the cabinet would fall into the hands of Zhang Juzheng.

If there was a premeditated attack on him during this process, except for Emperor Longqing's trust in him, he would temporarily lose the ability to counterattack.

When appointing people to the cabinet, as long as they are not good friends with Zhang Juzheng and can play a supervisory role, it is enough to limit Zhang Juzheng's rights.

In Gao Gong's view, adding more cabinet ministers was necessary, but now Emperor Longqing didn't want to add more ministers, so he naturally had to find ways to get the emperor to change his position.

"Your Majesty, the cabinet affairs are so busy that my uncle and I are unable to handle them. Moreover, I and other cabinet ministers cannot just deal with general government affairs, but also spend time thinking about the national policy of the imperial court.

For example, clan issues and the grain tax system require us to spend a lot of time thinking about how to improve the system. The rules set at the beginning of the country are somewhat out of date. Since the Yellow River floods blocked water transportation, the court was forced to make choices in order to ensure the grain supply. Try sea shipping in general. "

Gao Gong said to Emperor Longqing, and his words were also very sincere. He was unwilling to waste time on dealing with general government affairs, but hoped to have more time to think about a reform initiated by him.

"What is Zhang Aiqing's opinion?"

After listening to Gao Gong's words, Emperor Longqing looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked.

"Your Majesty, now only Duke Gao and I are left in the cabinet. It is indeed very stressful to deal with government affairs."

Zhang Juzheng just answered truthfully.

He thought that Gao Gong was planning to bring his own people into the cabinet to help him share some of the pressure, so he simply didn't say much.

In Zhang Juzheng's view, the more unscrupulous you Gao Gong is, the better, so that the emperor will covet you early, and all the officials will privately dislike Gao Gong.

Gao Gong always prides himself on being smart and capable, and looks down upon his colleagues. The more he behaves like this, the more smug he becomes, but he doesn't know how many people he offends because of it.

Seeing that Zhang Juzheng had no objection, Emperor Longqing looked at Gao Gong and asked, "Who does Master Gao intend to recommend to the cabinet?"

"I recommend Gao Yi, the former minister of the Ministry of Rites, who became ill due to illness in the third year of Longqing. I think that after these years of recovery, he should have recovered and it is time to serve the imperial court."

Gao Gong said.

According to the news he heard, Gao Yi had lived a very happy life at home these past few years and had no illness.

If he is sick, it is a common problem among elderly people, but he is said to be in good spirits.

This little old man is timid. He has already experienced it once. If he wants to call the capital to join the cabinet, he will not dare to go against him again.

However, Zhang Juzheng was still a little surprised when he heard that the person recommended by Gao Gong was very different from what he thought. He didn't know when Gao Yi had taken refuge in Gao Gong, hoping to seek a comeback.

Zhang Juzheng would not think about why Gao Gong chose Gao Yi, but thought that Gao Yi had established connections and had taken refuge in Gao Gong, so he stood up for him and recommended him to the cabinet.

Knowing that Gao Gong recommended Gao Yi, even though they had the same surname, they had nothing to do with each other. They were just two families, one from the south and the other from the north. Zhang Juzheng knew that he was going to do something bad.

Gao Gong's recommendation of Gao Yi would not offend Emperor Longqing, and would not cause officials to discuss him in private. Moreover, this person had sufficient qualifications to join the cabinet.

Sure enough, when Emperor Longqing heard that Gao Gong recommended Gao Yi, he inadvertently brought a smile to his face, nodded, and said with slight hesitation: "I just don't know if Gao Aiqing has recovered from her illness and can return to the court to serve as director."

"Your Majesty can issue an order to summon him to the cabinet. If his body is not strong yet, he will naturally decline. If he recovers, he will naturally come to the capital according to the order."

Gao Gong replied, "This can also reflect Bian's favor to the old minister and not make the old minister feel cold."

"But, let the cabinet issue a decree on this matter."

Emperor Longqing didn't think much and agreed immediately.

The emperor knew exactly why Gao Yi resigned, but he didn't expect that recalling Gao Gong would be so lethal and scare away several ministers at once.

At the beginning, he only made the decision for the sake of balance of power and worried that some small circles had too much power.

But the high arch is also amazing, and it developed in such a short period of time.

Of course, Emperor Longqing also knew in his heart that this matter was actually due to Wei Guangde and Ding You, and there was really a lack of mutual restrictions in the cabinet.

That's fine, if Grohe comes back, there will be some restrictions on the high arches.

After the matter was done, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng left the Qianqing Palace and returned directly to the cabinet. He personally drafted a decree to summon Gaoyi back to the court and sent someone to the Supervisor of Ceremonies to go through the procedures.

The news that the cabinet was to be replaced naturally spread quickly, causing another shock to the ruling and opposition parties.

The officials in the capital did not expect that Gao Gong would propose adding cabinet ministers to share their power, nor did they expect that the person he recommended would be Gao Yi, a person who had opposed him.

After leaving the government office, Zhang Juzheng did not return to his residence, but went to Yang Bo's residence first.

Now Yang Bo is still the Minister of the Ministry of War, and he is in charge of verifying Qi Jiguang's affairs.

According to Zhang Juzheng's calculations, the person Qi Jiguang could rely on in the court was initially Tan Lun, and later Wei Guangde.

But now that both of them are out of officialdom, Qi Jiguang is in an isolated and helpless situation. If he reaches out a hand to give him a hand, he might be able to win him over.

In fact, the matchmaker between Qi Jiguang and Wei Guangde was Tan Lun.

Therefore, it is not a bad thing to show kindness to Qi Jiguang at this time.

Even if he failed to win in the end, he at least ruined Gao Gong's plan, which is not bad.

Of course, although it is related to Qi Jiguang's future, it is a big deal for Qi Jiguang, but in Zhang Juzheng's heart, it is not important at all, it is just a little effort.

What he really cares about is Gao Yi's attitude. Whether Gao Yi has colluded with Gao Gong is what worries him the most.

And the one who has the most contact and familiarity with veterans like Gaoyi is naturally Yang Bo.

Being in officialdom in the capital for twenty years is not just talk.

When Zhang Juzheng entered Yang Bo's mansion and saw people, he first talked about Qi Jiguang.

"Uncle, I know about this. Gao Xinzheng has sent the official document to the Ministry of War. Do you want to guarantor?"

In fact, Yang Bo planned to continue to endure it and wait for Gao Gong to make a mistake. In fact, Gao Gong’s character, if not for the support of Emperor Longqing, he would have been played to death by officials like them so many times.

Gao Gong thinks that his behavior is impeccable, but in fact his character is his fatal weakness.

However, these small mistakes will not make him fall out of favor, so Zhang Juzheng, Yang Bo and others do not bother to take action, or their actions will only alert the snake and will not cause any substantial harm to him.

"Qi Jiguang is in the court, and there is no one he can rely on now."

Zhang Juzheng just said lightly.

This is something Wei Guangde didn't expect at the beginning. In fact, when he left, Tan Lun did a good job as governor of Jiliao. Even if something happened, wouldn't Zhu Heng still be there in the capital?

Although he is only the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, his rank is there after all, and everyone must give him some face.

It's okay to be a peacemaker and communicate when something happens.

He didn't expect Tan Lun to become an official, and he didn't want to worry about what happened next.

If you are not in your position and do not plan your political affairs, you will not be able to manage them.

"You want to conquer him?"

Yang Bo just glanced at Zhang Juzheng and didn't say much. He just nodded and said, "I understand."

For people at their level, protecting themselves is just that.

In the Ministry of War, no matter who was sent by Gao Gong to do this, as long as he stood up clearly to protect people, no one would dare to go against him as the minister.

Originally, Gao Gong's plan was that Yang Bo would not care about this matter. After all, he was not from his side.

It's just that Zhang Juzheng's thoughts were not taken into account. As for whether Qi Jiguang would accept Zhang Juzheng's overtures, that is another matter.

"Sir, what's going on with Mr. Gao Yigao?"

After Qi Jiguang finished talking about the trivial matters, Zhang Juzheng was about to start the main event of the day.

"Don't ask me, I am also suspicious."

Yang Bo knew what Zhang Juzheng wanted to ask, but he didn't have an answer.

The capital is such a big place, and the palace and cabinet are the focus of attention of the officials. The news that Gao Gong recommended Gao Yi to the cabinet spread throughout the major yamen in the capital within half a day.

In addition to being strange, Yang Bo was also jealous of Gao Yi's good fortune. He had more experience in the Hanlin Academy than him, and it seemed so simple to join the cabinet.

"What Mr. Gao means is that Mr. Gao may not be secretly connected with Gao Xinzheng as I thought?"

Zhang Juzheng asked tentatively.

At Yang Bo's house, the two people discussed it for a long time, but to no avail.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's see if he returns to the capital. I'll ask again then."

Yang Bo finally just said.

To be honest, he has returned to the capital to continue working as an official. He doesn't think Gao Yi will be able to resist the temptation. Isn't there him in front of him?

However, based on his familiarity with Gao Yi, he did not think that Gao Yi would take the initiative to contact Gao Gong in order to become an official. Gao Yi was so proud that he would definitely not lose face.

Even if he wanted to seek a comeback, he would contact him instead of Gao Gong.

A month passed quickly, and we entered April of the sixth year of Longqing.

Over the past month or so, Emperor Longqing's health had been good and bad. The imperial physician from the imperial hospital went to Qianqing Palace almost every day, constantly adjusting the prescriptions for Emperor Longqing's health.

Early in the morning, in Qingning Palace.

Feng Bao ran quickly through the palace with a letter in his hand, heading towards the palace of Prince Zhu Yijun.

The eunuchs and maids along the road consciously moved to both sides of the road and saluted Feng Bao.

This is the great eunuch in the palace and the emperor of Qingning Palace.

Pushing the door open and going in, Zhu Yijun was sitting on a chair, and a young eunuch was combing his hair.

The ancients grew their hair, so it was a little more troublesome than later generations. That is, they had to wash themselves up in the morning before showing it to others, otherwise they would look unkempt.

"Feng Banban, what happened? You are so worried."

Because he was combing his hair, Zhu Yijun still sat upright and did not look at the palace door.

"Master Wei has replied to the Crown Prince."

"What did the master say?"

Upon hearing the reply from Wei Guangde, Zhu Yijun's face suddenly became excited.

He only knew from listening to Feng Bao telling stories or reading books that it was a very elegant thing for literati to write letters to others when they had nothing to do, but it was a pity that no one had ever written to him at his age.

This was the first time someone wrote to him, and the little prince felt great satisfaction in his heart.

"This is a letter from Mr. Wei Ge to the Crown Prince. I dare not read it."

Feng Bao smiled pretending to be embarrassed.

"Feng Banban, you are so stupid. I can't even read. Master Wei wrote me a letter, but he didn't ask you to read it to me."

Zhu Yijun laughed when he heard Feng Bao's lame excuse and said, "Hurry up and comb your hair. I still have business to do."

The two young eunuchs were busy for a while, and finally they quickly fixed the prince's head and put on a "claw hat".

This is also different from the impression of later generations. In fact, children in the Ming Dynasty generally did not grow their hair and had their heads shaved. The same was true for princes and civilian children.

Children in the Ming Dynasty had the custom of shaving their hair, and royal children were no exception. There was a "Grate Room" in the palace, with more than ten attendants who were responsible for getting, growing, keeping, and having plastic surgery for the royal children.

When a prince or princess is born, their hair will be cut on the full moon. After a hundred days of naming, their hair will be shaved on schedule, which is called "please hair".

The prince's children, like the children of the people, shaved off all their hair without leaving a hair, "like the children of the Buddha."

The prince usually wears a six-petal round hat made of Xuanqing crepe, called a "dhara hat". He starts to grow his hair when he is ten years old. After growing his hair for a year, he chooses an auspicious day to "put it into the bag", that is, the hair is tied up on his head. Finally, it is put into a special bag and hung behind the body.

The bag is about two inches wide and more than a foot long. It is made of black silk in winter and black gauze in summer.

It was not until the prince chose to marry and take a concubine that he chose an auspicious occasion and performed the crowning ceremony to show his adulthood.

Zhu Yijun had to grow his hair for a year because he wanted to go out to study and didn't think it would look good if he shaved his head.

However, it is precisely because of this that it is more troublesome to take care of your hair, whether it is long or short.

After combing my hair, I took Wei Guangde's letter from Feng Bao and looked at it. The seal was intact and Wei Guangde's private seal was stamped. I was very satisfied.

"Feng Banban, read to me what the master has written."

Zhu Yijun handed the letter back to Feng Bao and urged.

(End of this chapter)