prosperous age

Chapter 840: 929 reverse the verdict? Disaster

Yang Bo was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Tan Lun was appointed to take charge of the Ministry of War. Lu Tiaoyang, the former Minister of the Ministry of Rites, entered the cabinet. In the vacant position of the Minister of Rites, Zhang Juzheng recommended Lu Shusheng. No matter how you look at it, Wei Guangde suffered.

Wei Guangde frowned slightly when he heard that Zhang Juzheng arranged the appointment and dismissal of important ministers in this way.

Wei Guangde was actually mentally prepared for the first three personnel appointments and dismissals, and he could accept them.

But the position of Minister of Rites was taken by someone recommended by Zhang Juzheng, so he was naturally unwilling to accept it.

However, when Wei Guangde realized who Lu Shusheng was recommended by Zhang Juzheng, his objections were choked in his throat and could not be uttered.

After Zhang Juzheng expressed his preference for the Minister of Rites, important official positions in the imperial court had actually been assigned. He actually had ideas for the next three-rank official positions, but he would not be able to communicate with Wei Guangde immediately.

For this, the two sides have to write letters. After all, it involves a wide range of people and involves a lot of people.

List the required official positions and officials with each other. If there is no overlap, it will be easy to appoint them. If there is overlap, they must be discussed carefully.

But after all, Zhang Juzheng dared to propose these officials for these positions at this time. It was the result of careful consideration. He believed that these people were the most suitable people to hold these positions at present, and it was difficult for Wei Guangde to object.

Just like Zhang Juzheng's plan, the three people aside, Lu Shusheng and Wei Guangde were just hesitant.

He is not Zhang Juzheng's person, but he will maintain a good relationship with Zhang Juzheng.

This was Wei Guangde's judgment on Lu Shusheng after he entered the court. He should not fall to Zhang Juzheng's side, even if he was a fellow villager of Xu Jie.

Speaking of Lu Shusheng, he was not famous in history, but he was really the most stubborn person.

Of course, the word "gou" does not mean "gouyinggougou", but "zhai", the kind of person who lives at home without leaving the front door or stepping outside the door.

Lu Shusheng was born in a farming family. He was poor and eager to learn since he was a child. He ranked first in the imperial examination in the 20th year of Jiajing. He was elected as a scholar of the Imperial Academy and was awarded the title of editor of the Imperial Academy. He successively served as Secretary of the Imperial Academy of Nanjing, Zuo Yude of Zuo Chunfang, and Taichang Temple. Qing and other positions.

Lu Shusheng was born in the fourth year of Zhengde in Huating, Songjiang, South Zhili. It is said that he is a descendant of Lu Zhi, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Because his father died young after he was born, Lu Shusheng lived with his mother, Shen, at his maternal grandmother's house in Linjiajiao, and changed his surname to Lin. It was not until the second year of Longqing that the surname Lu was restored.

This kind of childhood experience actually happened quite frequently in ancient times when medical standards were extremely low.

A man is the backbone of a family. Once the backbone collapses, the family will fall into difficulties and be easily bullied by the tribe.

At this time, the only option is usually to move back to live with the mother's family, and it is natural to change the surname.

Otherwise, how can they support your family?

You know, life is not easy in this era.

Of course, as far as people in the officialdom are concerned, it is rare for Lu Shusheng to experience such an experience. After all, few truly poor people can take the imperial examination and become officials because they cannot afford it.

Just listen to the saying that a noble son comes from a poor family. Those inspirational chicken soup articles are just to fool people.

From a poor family, you have to run around for three meals a day, but there may give you time to study and practice calligraphy, and take real money to take the imperial examination.

You must know that only by passing the college examination can you have the capital to support your family, because passing the college examination is like a carp leaping over the dragon gate and becoming a scholar, and you will receive preferential treatment from the court.

Before this, there was actually nothing but a waste of time and money.

The college examination is to compete among classmates from the same county.

There are only a few to a dozen places in each county for each academy examination, and the elimination rate is as high as 90%. Therefore, although the academy examination is a low-level exam, it is the most difficult hurdle to pass in the imperial examination.

But this is not the legend of Lu Shusheng. What is legendary is that this man really seems to have no interest in being an official.

The Jinshi scholars of the 20th year of Jiajing were the elders of Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, but now they are no longer officials in the court, and have even left officialdom for many years.

Lu Shusheng was elected as a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and later returned to his hometown of Dingyou. After serving in the Imperial Palace, he was appointed editor of the Hanlin Academy in December of the 24th year of Jiajing.

In the 31st year of Jiajing's reign, Lu Shusheng urgently requested to return to his hometown. Soon after, he encountered external difficulties and had to stay at home.

In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing's reign, he was appointed as the director of the Nanjing Imperial College. Two years later, he asked to resign to recuperate. He was not reinstated until February of the forty-third year of Jiajing's reign.

In May, he was promoted to Zuo Yude of Zuo Chunfang and was in charge of the affairs of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. In October, Lu Shusheng was recalled to the capital. He was still in Zuo Chunfang, serving as an attendant of the Hanlin Academy and managing imperial edicts. However, he did not go to his post and remained in Nanjing.

One year later, in October of the 44th year of the Jiajing reign, Lu Shusheng was appointed as the Minister of Taichang Temple, and was also in charge of the Nanjing Imperial College's wine ceremony. He strictly followed the academic rules and wrote twelve canons to inspire all living beings.

This was also the period when Xu Jie was in power, so he naturally cared about him as a fellow countryman and knew that he did not want to get involved in court affairs, so he was assigned another position in Nanjing. This time Lu Shusheng was happy to take up the post.

In November of the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign, Xu Jie wanted to start preparing for his retirement life and started planning again. Not only did he promote Zhang Juzheng, but he also set his sights on his fellow countryman. The imperial court promoted Lu Shusheng to the right of the official department. Minister, but he again claimed to be ill and could not take up the post.

I don’t know whether it was because he really didn’t want to leave his hometown or because the water in Sijiucheng couldn’t support him. Anyway, Lu Shusheng just didn’t want to come to Beijing to be an official.

At the beginning of the first year of Longqing's reign, the imperial court once again appointed Lu Shusheng as the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He resigned in March, but was not approved. Emperor Longqing also asked him to participate in the compilation of "Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty" and serve as vice president, but Lu Shusheng still claimed that he was ill. He retired and was finally allowed to return to his hometown for recuperation in April of the same year.

In March of the second year of Longqing's reign, Lu Shusheng was still appointed as the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, he claimed to be ill again and could not take up his post. He asked for a break, but was not allowed.

In April of the following year, after repeated requests, Emperor Longqing had no choice but to approve his return to his hometown for medical treatment. In fact, during this year, Lu Shusheng did not come to Beijing at all and stayed in his hometown.

Emperor Longqing's will was actually more about saving face for himself.

What's it like if you can't summon a single minister back?

However, it was also because of Lu Shusheng's character that Emperor Longqing was very interested in him.

After all, who among those who participated in the imperial examination would not be tempted by high-ranking officials and generous salaries. There were very few people who were as indifferent to fame and fortune as Lu Shusheng. They were relatively just people who could be trusted.

At least, by appointing such a person to an important position in the court, you don't have to worry about him having evil intentions and trying to usurp the throne.

In December of this year, Emperor Longqing once again issued an edict, instructing Lu Shusheng to take charge of Zhan Shifu affairs in his original position and be responsible for teaching common people. However, he still used the word "sick and unable to go to official positions".

At this point, Emperor Longqing was completely helpless and had no choice but to give a warning.

Giving a warning means that the emperor granted him leave and allowed him to return home with his official seal and ribbon for medical treatment. In fact, it was Emperor Longqing who found a place for himself.

For such a person, maybe he would be biased towards Zhang Juzheng because of Xu Jie's relationship, but he would never completely fall in favor of Zhang Juzheng, otherwise he would not have stopped coming to the capital.

You must know that with his Hanlin background and the temptation of the official position of Minister of Civil Affairs, he is actually qualified to join the cabinet.

Moreover, his status as a Jinshi during the 20th year of Jiajing's reign can be said to be older than that of most officials in the current court.

It can be said that Zhang Juzheng was sure that Wei Guangde would not object before recommending this person. However, Wei Guangde heard this, and the hesitation in his heart was more about whether this man would take the post.

"Master Chief Assistant." As soon as Wei Guangde opened his mouth, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "We are all acquaintances, so don't call me that again in the future. We should stick to the original calling. I call you Shandai, and you call me uncle, okay?" "

Wei Guangde nodded, smiled, and then continued: "Uncle, this senior Lu is naturally a good candidate to take over the Ministry of Etiquette, but can you let him become an official?

As far as I know, this person refused the late emperor's solicitation many times. "

Wei Guangde was still in the court at that time, and although he had never met Lu Shusheng, it was rare for the emperor to repeatedly push back on an official position.

It's funny to say that since the Jiajing Dynasty, Lu Shusheng has repeatedly declined appointments from the imperial court. People inside and outside the imperial court believe that he has a high integrity. The higher his reputation, whenever he encounters an important position, he will be recommended first, lest he will not be appointed. .

At this time, Zhang Juzheng became the chief minister. When choosing the candidate for the position of Minister of Rites, he naturally came to mind and hoped to use his reputation to gain support from the court.

After all, although the expulsion of Gao Gong was the order of Empress Chen, Concubine Li, and the young emperor, when the government and the public discussed it privately, they still believed that Zhang Juzheng was more or less involved in it from the perspective of profit and played an important role. It's a small role, but the purpose is naturally to be the first assistant.

However, Wei Guangde's reputation was not damaged. After all, he was in a special situation. He should have been on the ship when the turmoil in the capital was at its worst.

With the current communication conditions of Ming Dynasty, they would not think that Wei Guangde was involved in this matter.

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Zhang Juzheng knew that Wei Guangde actually accepted this candidate, and immediately said: 'Simple, you and I both send a letter to Senior Lu, asking him to come out and take charge of the Ministry of Rites. '

This is to show a gesture and show it to outsiders.

Wei Guangde hesitated for a moment and nodded. Zhang Juzheng wanted to improve his reputation, and so did Wei Guangde, and Lu Shusheng was a good target to improve his reputation.

As for ability, after all, he has left the court for many years, so Wei Guangde is not worried about this.

Wei Guangde had already sorted out the affairs of the Ministry of Rites when he was the minister. In fact, it was not difficult at all and it was very leisurely.

To be honest, among the six departments, only the Minister of Rites can be considered a part of Qingliu, and the other five departments cannot be.

"One more thing, I hope Shandai can be accommodating."

Zhang Juzheng finished talking about the business and spoke hesitantly.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's appearance, Wei Guangde felt strange and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Uncle, what else is difficult for you? You might as well tell me, if it's not about right and wrong, I won't stop him."

Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment and then said, "Shandai heard about my teacher's family affairs."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde suddenly understood what Zhang Juzheng was asking for. It was not the punishment of Xu Jie's sons. He remembered reading the Di newspaper and collecting information that Xu Jie's sons were sentenced to exile by Gao Gong.

However, Wei Guangde was not clear about the later transactions between Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. Although they were accommodating, they were still criminals after all, but they were not sent far away, but to the Zhejiang Health Center next door.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng had the idea of ​​​​sending people to Jiujiang Guards at the beginning, thinking that Wei Guangde and Xu Jie were not political enemies, at least they did not have deep prejudices against each other.

Send the person to Jiujiang Wei and ask the Wei family to take care of him.

"Uncle, do you want to reverse the case? It's difficult."

Wei Guangde said immediately.

The evidence in the Xu Jie case is conclusive, otherwise it would not have caused such a big fuss.

You know, the attack on the Xu family's mansion in the countryside spread throughout the Ming Dynasty. It was a big scandal, and Wei Guangde had heard about it.

The Xu family was attacked by the oppressed people, and many villagers gathered around Xu Jie to curse. This shows how unpopular the things Xu Jie's sons did were.

It is said that rabbits do not eat the grass around the nest, but Xu Jiazi even ate the grass around the nest, and the sight of eating was really ugly.

In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, corrupt officials remained corrupt while in office, but they would often restrain themselves after returning to their hometowns. They would even use money to build bridges and pave roads in their hometowns to build their reputations, and most of them would not commit crimes in their hometowns.

After all, in this era, the family has a very high status in everyone's heart. Even if you become a pavilion elder, you still have to bend down in front of the family elders, otherwise your reputation will be ruined.

A reputation of not respecting the elderly is enough to make you irrecoverable.

What Xu Jiazi did made people really angry.

"But after all, the teacher is old and his children are not around. As a student, I can't bear it."

Zhang Juzheng knew the difficulty of this matter and said.

"It's difficult to overturn the verdict, but I just have to wait two months, and when His Majesty promulgates a general amnesty for the whole country, they will be included in it and released. This is my minimum requirement."

Wei Guangde didn't want to do it right, but he didn't want to be infamous either. He just used the opportunity of the emperor's general amnesty to vaguely let people go.

In fact, like the verdict of Xu Jiazi, because it included charges of murder and conspiracy to seize state property, even if there was an edict of amnesty, logically speaking, their crimes would not be forgiven.

What is pardoned is actually only some minor crimes, as well as some undiscovered crimes among the people, but they cannot be serious crimes.

People like Xu Jiazi naturally fall into the category of serious crimes and cannot be pardoned.

However, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Juzheng to get involved in the amnesty edict and include the Xu family. As long as the news was blocked a little and no one mentioned it at the time, no one would talk about it later.

Even if the incident comes to light many years later, it can still be excused by the minister's dereliction of duty.

As long as the Xu family does not commit any other crimes in the past few years, if the time comes to ask for mercy from the emperor and talk to the adults in the court, the incident will be over.

Of course Zhang Juzheng wanted to overturn the case for the Xu family. After all, these charges were a stain on the teacher Xu Jie's life.

If the original case cannot be overturned, the Xu family will forever be known as the guilty party.

However, Zhang Juzheng knew the difficulty of the operation. As the chief assistant, he could not fool him by simply calling a deer a horse.

When Wei Guangde promised to turn a blind eye and release people during the amnesty, he had already fulfilled his benevolence. This should also be due to Xu Jie's status as the former chief minister.

Well, in the final analysis, officials protect each other. Who knows whether the descendants of the Wei family will also commit the crimes of the Xu family in the future.

With the precedent of Xu Jiazi, it will be easy to be excused when the time comes.

The law, after all, serves those in power.

(End of this chapter)