prosperous age

Chapter 843 Chapter 932 Zhang Juzheng’s Changes

"The autumn defense is still there?"

Wei Guangde asked.

Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly.

To be honest, Wei Guangde had strong opinions on the Datong Peace Agreement signed by Wang Chonggu and Anda Khan, otherwise he would not have clearly opposed it in his reply to Emperor Longqing and asked them to continue talking.

But obviously, their opinions were useless. Both Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng hoped to end the military confrontation with the Mongols as soon as possible and at least reach a temporary peace.

"The Imperial Academy and the Ministry of Rites will make arrangements for His Majesty's study."

Seeing the young emperor today, Wei Guangde couldn't help but think about the issue of the emperor going out to study.

"I have handed over this matter to the Ministry of Rites to select lecturers and ministers in the Hanlin Academy. A list of names should be sent in a few days."

Zhang Juzheng spoke up and said that he had no intention of making any fuss about this matter.

"Lu Shusheng, has Shandai sent you a letter?"

Zhang Juzheng asked again.

By the time Wei Guangde came out of Zhang Juzheng's room again, nearly half an hour had passed.

It's really hard to sort out a lot of things recently, and the two of them have to get angry with each other before they can deal with it.

Two days later, a decree came from the palace, ordering Zhu Xixiao, the left governor of the Jinyi Guard, to come and inspect the mausoleum work, and Yang Junqing, the official secretary, was specially responsible for the supervision.

The next day, another decree was issued, ordering the eunuch Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the eunuch, to transfer the mausoleum workers.

However, when the edict came to Wei Guangde, Wei Guangde only thought about it for a moment before drafting it, "The edict of the supervisor and eunuch has been issued, but the official seal official will not accept the edict, and there is no reason for two edicts for the same thing, so he will seal it back."

After writing the ticket, Wei Guangde thought about it again and shouted to the door: "Lu Bu, come in."

Soon, Lu Bu quickly walked into the check-in room and stood solemnly in front of Wei Guangde.

"This is an edict just issued by the palace. Let's take it to the chief assistant's duty room and ask the chief assistant to sign it."

Wei Guangde did not intend to carry out the decree by himself, and it was not a big deal. Zhang Juzheng would not refuse.

After Lu Bu took the things and left, Wei Guangde immersed himself in reading the next official document.

As the days passed, the first batch of servants from Jiangxi had arrived, led by the housekeeper Zhang Ji.

After all, they were traveling on their own, unlike Wei Guangde who was following an order. Guanyi and sluice gates had to give priority along the way, so the delay was slightly longer.

As for Wei Guangde's wife and children in Jiangxi, they would have to wait two months before setting off to return to Beijing, but they did not rush back.

Ten days later, Wei Guangde finally received a reply from Lu Shusheng, and that night Wei Guangde went to Zhang Juzheng's residence.

You Qi took Wei Guangde into Zhang Mansion and waited in a flower hall.

During half a cup of tea, Zhang Juzheng had already dressed and came out to meet Wei Guangde.

"Have you received Lu Shusheng's letter?"

When they met, Wei Guangde asked with a smile.

"I just received it, what do you think of the charity loan?"

Zhang Juzheng smiled and asked immediately.

"Although he still refused in the letter, it seems to me that he also wants to serve. I don't know how my uncle made the decision."

Wei Guangde asked cheerfully.

"I have the same opinion as you. It seems that Mr. Lu may not be as indifferent to fame and fortune as a saint."

Zhang Juzheng touched his beard and smiled. His big beard was very rare in the court, and it was also what Zhang Juzheng was most proud of. It was often like this outside.

Wei Guangde didn't take it seriously and said, "Then I'll ask for the order tomorrow. After receiving the order over there, the court can take action."

In fact, during this period, some of Gao Gong's officials were still very honest and obedient. Perhaps because Gao Gong was expelled, they all had a sense of urgency and carried out the cabinet's orders well.

However, such behavior is actually of no use, even if some of them find some excuse to enter the residences of Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde to establish relations and friendship.

Although it is difficult to become an official in the capital, and getting rich is not as rich as in the local area, after all, you are in the capital, the officialdom is very well-informed, and promotion is relatively fast, so no one wants to be let out.

It's just that they don't know, or they guess it but still have a little fantasy, and still want to work hard to stay.

But these actions were naturally in vain. In fact, the destinations of many people had already been decided after several discussions between Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Yang Bo, and they were just waiting for Yang Bo to officially take over the civil service.

Yang Bo is still temporarily holding the title of Minister of the Ministry of War, but more energy has been focused on the Ministry of Personnel. The two of them can complete the handover just after Tan Lun comes from Jiangxi.

And just this afternoon, in the latest memorial sent, Wei Guangde also saw the memorial from Shandong Governor Liang Menglong and the Governor of Water Transport Wang Zongmu, saying that the sea transportation in May would officially begin, starting from Yunti Pass in Huai'an, along the Shandong Peninsula to Tianjin Wei, the entire length of It took more than 3,300 miles and a total of 120,000 shi of grain to reach Tianjin in just two months.

So Wei Guangde talked about the memorial again.

"Uncle, it seems that the change of grain transportation from land to sea has been very successful. In the future, we can arrange for the household department to increase the amount of grain transportation by sea. At the same time, we will also inform the water transportation yamen."

Wei Guangde believed that the sea trial was a success, and the Ming court should soon make up its mind to transport grain by sea to avoid the flooded areas of Huanghuai and ensure that the grain could be safely transported to the capital.

However, unlike what he expected, Zhang Juzheng, who was originally very supportive of shipping, frowned at this time, "Although shipping is successful, the risk of shipping is still the same, and it can easily capsize. The matter of converting grain from land to sea is of great importance and needs to be considered again and again. "

Zhang Juzheng's change made Wei Guangde stunned on the spot.

He did not immediately start an argument with Zhang Juzheng on the matter because he could not figure out the reason for Zhang Juzheng's change of position.

“Even if we don’t increase the amount of grain transported by sea, hundreds of thousands of stones will still have to be retained every year.

The Ministry of Industry and the Caoshan Province spent a lot of money on this sea trial. The warships borrowed from Fujian and the Caoshan Ocean Ship have been modified. It would be a pity if they were abandoned. "

Wei Guangde didn't want to continue arguing about this matter, but since he had made a good start, he wanted to prevent the matter from dying midway.

"Just maintain the current number of ships. Remember Liang Menglong said that depending on the weather, we can make at least two trips a year, and if the weather is good, we can complete three such transportations.

In this way, we can transport 200,000 to 300,000 tons of grain in a year. Let's try it for a few years to see how it goes. "

Zhang Juzheng replied.

Although Wei Guangde was a little dissatisfied, after all, Zhang Juzheng was the chief assistant, and he had a higher official position than anyone else, so it was not easy for him to argue about it.

After all, there are still many reasons why shipping is risky.

It's just that these people only see the risk of shipwrecks in shipping, but deliberately ignore that more than 800 ships have been damaged in the past two years, all of which were caused by flooding in the Yellow River.

The number of these ships has exceeded the total number of ships in this sea trial.

What does this mean?

The risk of water transportation is actually no less than that of sea transportation, but Zhang Juzheng's change of attitude was so sudden that Wei Guangde didn't know the reason and it was temporarily inconvenient.

Perhaps he underestimated the interest groups in the water transport industry, and I don't know when he persuaded Zhang Juzheng.

Wei Guangde could only think this in his heart. After leaving Zhang Mansion, Wei Guangde was still thinking about this matter. Someone must be arranged to investigate the reason for Zhang Juzheng's change of attitude.

When he returned to the mansion, Wei Guangde called Zhang Ji over.

"Have you received news recently about who has contact with Zhang Juzheng? Make a list for me.

In addition, if you pay more attention recently, who has frequent contacts with him and what their background is. "

After Wei Guangde's instructions, Zhang Ji nodded in agreement, "I'll go find someone to ask about this right away. Sir, you want to check Zhang Shoufu's side to see if something happened?"

Zhang Ji asked this not to inquire about information, but to know the reason why Wei Guangde suddenly asked about this matter. Knowing the source will make it easier to trace things.

Wei Guangde did not hide anything and said directly: "I feel that Zhang Juzheng's strategy towards shipping has changed somewhat. I remember that he still supported the development of shipping, especially grain shipping.

However, when the matter was brought up today, he said that he still needed to consider it. It was really strange that the trial voyage of grain shipping organized by the governor of Shandong Liang Meng and Longliang was very successful, and 120,000 shi of grain was successfully transferred to Tianjin. "

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he saw Zhang Ji lost in thought, but he came back to his senses in a short time.

"Sir, I think I may know the reason."

Zhang Ji bowed and stood solemnly, but what he said shocked Wei Guangde.

"what reason?"

Wei Guangde asked in confusion.

“I remember that my master initially supported the strategy of converting grain from land to sea, and later it was also approved by other members of the cabinet.

But from what I learned in the past two days, after the master returned to his hometown of Dingyou, the promotion of this policy changed from the master to Gao Gong. He personally practiced and vigorously advocated this policy, so many ignorant people thought it was Gao Gong. mentioned. "

Zhang Ji stopped here and did not continue.

Wei Guangde had a vague feeling in his heart, as if he understood something, but it was still hazy. There was only one layer of window paper that was not pierced, so he still didn't understand what it meant.

After a moment of silence, Wei Guangde said, "Continue." '

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Ji bowed and then continued: "Some of Zhang Shoufu's recent actions are to adjust some of the decrees issued by Gao Gong, but most of them have been rejected and withdrawn."

"You are saying that he opposed this matter because it was supported by Gao Gong. The purpose is to try his best to eliminate Gao Gong and minimize Gao Gong's influence on the court?"

Wei Guangde suddenly felt like he was clearing the clouds.

Yes, Wei Guangde has recently been assigned various memorials from the local government, as well as the funeral rites of Emperor Longqing from the Ministry of Rites, and his daily work is fully arranged.

He knew a little about the affairs handled by Zhang Juzheng, but not comprehensively. He agreed with what Zhang Ji said.

"Haha. It should be so."

Wei Guangde suddenly laughed.

He has already figured out that Zhang Juzheng's actions are truly the legacy of Xu Jie.

When Xu Jie replaced Yan Song, he was still dealing with various government affairs in the early days. However, after the death of Emperor Jiajing, Xu Jie's focus changed from handling daily affairs of the cabinet to correcting chaos, canceling a series of policies formulated during Yan Song's period, and re-examining the achievements of the government. The crime of criminalizing officials has greatly cleared up a number of unjust cases caused by criminalizing the Yan family due to different political opinions or other reasons.

Because of this, Xu Jie received unanimous praise from both the government and the public, which laid an important foundation for his subsequent victory in the battle with Gao Gong.

The reason for the fall of the Manchu Dynasty was actually due to the fact that those officials were reviewed by Xu Jie for these cases and the positions of many convicted officials were restored.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty were intertwined, and they were of the same year, fellow villagers, and classmates. It was such an extremely complicated network.

Xu Jie was already old at that time, and he did this for reputation.

And what about Zhang Juzheng?

He is not yet fifty years old, but he is imitating what Xu Jie did back then and earning fame in the officialdom. It is obvious that his intentions are not small.

Wei Guangde understood why it was difficult for other chief ministers of the Ming Dynasty to push forward the reforms of the Ming Dynasty and achieve certain success.

In addition to the fact that the emperor was young and did not understand government affairs and needed his help, Zhang Juzheng also gained the favor of many officials through inverted arches, and many of these favors became a boost in subsequent reforms.

After all, most of the reforms implemented by Zhang Juzheng were beneficial to the court and would not increase the burden on the people. Strictly speaking, they only collected the taxes that the court should have collected.

At the same time, the operational efficiency of the court was improved, and some benefits were obtained from top to bottom.

As for the subsequent collapse of Zhang Juzheng, it may have been initiated by the young emperor Zhu Yijun, and those officials who were good at adapting to the situation, flattering the horse, and singing praises took advantage of the situation and attacked Zhang Juzheng's policies with all their strength, just to please the emperor and gain promotion and wealth for themselves. gain political capital.

"You'd better go down and check, and then give me a list."

Although he thought a lot, Wei Guangde did not give up.

What should be investigated must be investigated after all.

"In the future, people must be arranged to pay attention to the main officials of the cabinet and the six ministries in a timely manner. If anything happens, I will be notified in a timely manner."

Wei Guangde ordered again.

In the past, such attention was only temporarily arranged when something happened, but now Wei Guangde's status has determined that he will conduct long-term surveillance of important officials in the court.

After Zhang Ji left, Wei Guangde fell into silence again, thinking about how to get along with Zhang Juzheng in the future.

To defeat him, we should rely on his reform of the Ming Dynasty to maintain the fate of the Ming Dynasty.

You must know that Zhang Juzheng's reforms were a very important process to save the Ming Dynasty from crisis, and it offended many people, otherwise he would not have been criticized by so many people in the future.

Even the title of chief minister of the Ming Dynasty cabinet could not protect his posthumous affairs. It can be seen that the real influence on Zhang Juzheng's case was not the government and the opposition, but higher levels.

Zhang Juzheng would offend the little emperor, so he could not follow in his footsteps.

A red face is a white face. Since Zhang Juzheng wants to play the white face, let him play the red face himself.

I don't know how long it took before Wei Guangde suddenly came back to his senses.

After reflecting on many of my previous thoughts, I was shocked to discover that I had never considered backing Zhang Juzheng, but wanted to maintain a superficial relationship with Zhang Juzheng and let Zhang Juzheng carry out reforms.

Wei Guangde didn't know if this was influenced by later generations. Although he stood in front of Zhang Juzheng and didn't show anything, the souls from later generations instinctively showed respect for him.

"Let's first look at Zhang Juzheng's administration. If the policy is only for the pursuit of reversal and not pragmatism, then we should oppose it ourselves."

For Wei Guangde, he did not hold the view that if he opposed someone, he would oppose everything about him, although this seemed to be the case in later generations.

Wei Guangde actually prefers cat theory, which emphasizes practical ideas.

As for the point of view that cannot be used because one is a political opponent, one should oppose it?

It doesn't exist. If you change it a little, it won't be yours. As long as it's correct, it's worth spending some energy to think about. If the internals don't change, we can just change the packaging.

(End of this chapter)