The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Inside the official office.

As the afternoon came to an end, Xie Qian came to see Ma Wensheng, the Minister of Finance. Those who came with Xie Qian and the military department were all upset.

The purpose of coming this time is naturally to deal with local affairs in Yongping Prefecture. A joint petition launched by Yan Guan to impeach the Jinyiwei commander Mou Bin for abusing his power has begun to ferment. Xie Qian represents the cabinet, and Qu Shen represents the Sixth Section. Ma Wensheng, the Minister of Civil Affairs, wanted to "discuss before the war."

"I have heard a little bit about the affairs of Yongping Mansion, but if I go to criticize the commander of the Jinyi Guards, I am afraid that it will involve too many people, so it is not appropriate to start a big fight."

Ma Wensheng is still relatively cautious.

He has been in the government for a long time, unlike Xie Qian who was promoted by working as a teacher for Zhu Youtang. You must know that during the Chenghua period, Ma Wensheng was already a pillar of the court, and at that time Xie Qian and others were still in the East Palace. I'm giving a lecture to the prince.

Therefore, Ma Wensheng understands the rules of emperors of the past dynasties better than Xie Qian and others, which is to try not to move the people around him. Things like impeaching the commander of the Jin Yiwei have naturally happened before, but basically it was a big thunder but a small rain.

Xie Qian smiled and said, "Do you really think this is just Mu Bin?"

Ma Wensheng also glared at Xie Qian, who liked to talk a lot, and asked: "The guilty must be judged based on the facts, isn't it?"

"Yes, yes, it is just to participate in the impeachment of Mou Bin." Xie Qian continued to say with a smile, "If the commander of the Jinyi Guards committed a crime, he is also a court official and should be governed by the court's laws. Even if he is a sycophant, he will not Should get away with it.”

Ma Wensheng heard Xie Qian's firm attitude, which also meant that the cabinet behind Xie Qian was determined to cut off the wings around Zhang Zhou that could do things.

"Yu Qiao, you should also know that we are not in charge of this matter."

Ma Wensheng was reminding Xie Qian that Mu Bin could not be brought down by the cabinet, six ministries and six subjects alone.

Xie Qian said: "This is exactly what I want to say. Some people have caused public outrage, and someone will naturally deal with it. This is not just a violation of the law, but also because it is unpopular. In this matter, Ma Butang, you don't have to worry too much."

There is someone behind us. You, Ma Wensheng, should think more about this person. You will know that he is a powerful person in the palace, such as Xiao Jing, Wei Bin, and even the group of senior eunuchs from the Royal Horse Supervisor. In short, they are related to Zhang Zhou. The entanglement of forces...I don't know, you can figure it out for yourself.

Ma Wensheng knew that he couldn't do anything if he didn't cooperate, so of course he wouldn't choose to come forward.

Ma Wensheng asked: "What are the specific misdeeds of Jin Yiwei in Yongping Mansion? Is there any real evidence?"

Xie Qian then looked at Qu Shen beside him, asking Qu Shen to explain.

Qu Shen said seriously: "Since the beginning of June, Li Rong, the eunuch of the East Factory, Mou Bin, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, Guo Ang, the governor of the Fusi Town in Beizhen, and others went to Yongping Mansion for official business, and later arrested Yongping Mansion on unfounded charges. More than ten homes of local officials and gentry were raided. Later, after local officials and people from the court came forward, the matter not only did not ease, but the Jin Yiwei intensified their efforts, causing panic among the local people."

"By the beginning of July, nearly thirty families of officials and gentry were implicated, and everyone from the prefectural city to the lower county towns was affected. There were also many families who suffered hardship as a result."

Ma Wensheng asked: "Did someone be tortured to death?"

"Yes." Qu Shen nodded.

Ma Wensheng asked: "Is there any specific crime?"

Qu Shen didn't seem to want to say anything, but after looking at Xie Qian and being encouraged by Xie Qian's eyes, he said: "It is said that there is a suspicion of Tongfan. Although Yongping Mansion is close to the border, it is also far away from Fanbang's main activity area. Even if someone does have a connection, there must be no evidence and it is all fiction."

Ma Wensheng shook his head and said, "It's hard to say whether it's true or not, but this charge alone is not something that the commander of the Jinyi Guards would have fabricated in such a big way. Doesn't His Majesty know about it behind the scenes?"

"This……"

Qu Shen didn't expect that Ma Wensheng had so many questions, and he couldn't answer them for a while.

Xie Qian said: "Why is Mabu Tang so timid? Even if His Majesty knew it, would he let the Jin Yiwei act so randomly? Thirty families... That would almost turn Yongping Mansion upside down. Even if His Majesty knew it, There was an instruction in advance, and we would never let Jin Yiwei act so randomly, not to mention that now that Li Rong is dead, some things should come to an end and be settled."

The words were not made very clear, but based on Ma Wensheng's political consciousness, we knew that what Xie Qian was referring to was that there were "steps" to climb between civil servants and the emperor.

And this step is to push all the responsibilities onto the dead person.

There is no need to deliberately target Zhang Zhou.

He only participated in the impeachment of Mou Bin, and Mou Bin could still argue that Li Rong asked him to do it. The emperor would never completely break up with the civil servants. As long as the civil servants agreed with each other, the emperor finally discovered that the Jin Yiwei was indeed acting randomly, even if it was just The culprits such as Mou Bin were punished with small punishments and large warnings, and finally the responsibility was passed to the dead Li Rong. The civil servants could be regarded as a complete victory on the scene.

Zhang Bingkuan is not involved, but Zhang Bingkuan is targeted everywhere.

Ma Wensheng also asked directly: "Is Mr. Cai Guo involved in this matter?"

Xie Qian shook his head and said: "Although he arrived in Yongping Mansion, it is said that he never showed up from the beginning to the end. But everyone knows that this incident happened because of him. If he hadn't started mining in Yongping Mansion, it would have made the officials and people unhappy. He, how could such a situation arise? Your Majesty may have wanted to support him at first, but as things develop, it will not be so easy to control."

"Ah."

When Ma Wensheng heard that it had nothing to do with Zhang Zhou, he seemed a little more relieved.

It's too difficult to be Zhang Zhou's enemy now.

In the past, when Li Guang was in power, the civil servants had nothing to do with Li Guang. However, Zhang Zhou was completely an enhanced version of Li Guang. Compared with Li Guang who could only confuse the public with his monstrous words, Zhang Zhou had great potential in the eyes of the emperor. Can a person of great ability be easily shaken?
  Xie Qian said: "What we need now is for more people in the DPRK to stand with us. We have been defeated repeatedly against Zhang Bingkuan, but when it comes to Mu Bin, we cannot say we gave up halfway."

We can't defeat Zhang Zhou, and now we can't even deal with Mou Bin, so we civil servants really don't have to mess around.

Ma Wensheng sighed and said: "For Your Majesty, the palms and backs of your hands are full of flesh, so don't let the road end."

Xie Qian smiled and said: "This is natural, we are dealing with the situation and not the person."

……

……

Zhu Youtang had someone notify the ministers in advance and transfer Mou Bin back to the capital. Zhang Zhou took another route, also traveling day and night to return to the capital.

"Why are you leaving in such a hurry? Is there an emergency military situation in the northwest?"

Zhu Feng, who had been idle for many days, was not used to being suddenly called back so urgently. He had many questions while riding on the horse, but Zhang Zhou didn't answer any of them.

Although Li Zhang and Zhang Zhou came from the same place, they were not traveling together.

Only the Jin Yiwei escorted Zhang Zhou to the inns along the way, and he only rested for two hours a day. He had to ride back to the capital in two days, with only one rest in the way.

Finally, when it was almost midnight, we arrived at the resting place. At this time, we had entered the realm of Shuntian Mansion. The treatment of hospitality had to be upgraded to a higher level. The post station to the east of Shuntian Mansion rarely entertained high-ranking officials from the court, like Zhang Zhou. This is the first person with such an official title in recent years. Zhang Zhou brought many people with him when he went there, but when he came back he only brought twenty or thirty people with him, and there were places to rest in the post station.

When the hot water came, Wang Mingshan brought water to Zhang Zhou. Zhang Zhou was already ready to rest on the table. The reason why he did not go to the bed to rest was because Zhang Zhou had been traveling for more than a day and was already very tired. He was afraid of falling down. I couldn't get up from the soft pillow on the high bed for two hours.

"Master, Sun Qianhu is here to visit." Before Zhang Zhou could tidy up and go to rest, someone reported that Sun Shangqi was here.

Sun Shangqi came from the mine, while Zhang Zhou came from the coast. They were not traveling the same way. Sun Shangqi also knew in advance that Zhang Zhou would pass by the inn, so he rushed over to visit Zhang Zhou.

"Let him in." Zhang Zhou still had good intentions towards Sun Shangqi.

After all, this person was the person who escorted him to Beijing in the first place. He was an old acquaintance. Sun Shangqi had been diligent in his work in the past two years. Although there was no big improvement, he at least did a good job in what he should do.

As Sun Shangqi came in, he also brought news from Jin Yiwei to Zhang Zhou.

"Commander Mou passed by here three hours ago and continued on to the capital. He may arrive in the capital before noon tomorrow." Sun Shangqi said.

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "No matter how hard I rush, I won't be able to arrive until near dark. I won't see him in the court hall until early the morning after tomorrow."

Sun Shangqi said: "Commander Mou asked me to send a message to Cai Guogong. If things change, you don't have to speak for him. He will take responsibility for it."

It seems that Mou Bin is trying to protect Zhang Zhou and does not want Zhang Zhou to have anything to do with this matter.

But Zhang Zhou can feel that Mou Bin is kind of reminding Zhang Zhou to "save me." The more righteous you Mou Bin are, the harder it is for Zhang Zhou to stand by and watch. After all, Mou Bin did those things in Yongping Mansion. The original intention was to help Zhang Zhou clear up trouble in mining in Yongping Mansion.

Zhang Zhou said: "I know for sure. Is Sun Qianhu's injury better?"

Sun Shangqi put his hand on the wound on his shoulder and sighed slightly: "It's still the same as before, and the wound is not getting better."

It has been almost a month since Sun Shangqi was injured. He was injured by an arrow in the summer. The injury is actually not good. If it continues to develop, there is no way to heal the injury. It would be good to cut off the arm to save his life. .

If it is not cured for a long time, even if the disease is cured, the sore will remain, and it may break out at any time in the future.

This is also a big problem with injuries these days.

Zhang Zhou said: "Then Sun Qianhu doesn't have to run around like this. He should rest more."

Sun Shangqi said: "I have brought some people with me. I am ordered by Commander Mou to escort you back to the capital. I am afraid that I will be unfavorable to you in the evening. According to the previous reports, it is said that there are people who may be unfavorable to you. The background is profound and the culprit has not yet been found.”

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "There are many people who have grudges against me, and there are also a lot of people who want me dead. Just get used to it. As long as you don't appear in dangerous places, the people around me are enough to protect me."

Sun Shangqi cupped his fists and said, "It's better to be careful. In addition, Commander Mou has some thoughts to express. I hope you can... accept them."

Let Sun Shangqi come and give you gifts.

Zhang Zhouxin said that Mou Bin was very scheming. Maybe Jin Yiwei was really in trouble this time. Li Rong's death was a turning point. Before, whether Jin Yiwei followed Xiao Jing, Yang Peng, or Li Rong, he did things well. By virtue of this, they are just executors and do not have to take responsibility for things.

Now that Li Rongyi is dead, the situation is very different. Mou Bin has directly switched from the background to the public face.

After Li Zhang gained momentum, he was actually unable to convince the public. As a result, Mou Bin knew that he could not count on Li Zhang for anything.

At a critical moment, Li Zhang will definitely abandon his car to protect his commander.

Besides, if Li Zhang really wants to fight with the big guys in the court, he is still a bit green.

But he, Zhang Zhou, is different. It can be said that he is not afraid of anything. He can do whatever he wants, and he can do it regardless of the retreat, because he, Zhang Zhou, is the last resort for many people.

"Put the gift aside for now. Others don't understand me, but you don't understand me either? I'm not short of money, and I'm not short of things. I work hard all my life, and all I want is a little peace. And Jin Yiwei will be fine this time, and everything will be as usual , It’s not what I think, but His Majesty will not disturb the foundation. You are all people worthy of His Majesty’s trust.” Zhang Zhou’s tone was somewhat relieved.

In fact, Zhang Zhou knew that the Jin Yiwei, headed by Mu Bin, was now looking for a "decision-maker" for the next step, a decision-maker second to the emperor.

Before, Jin Yiwei also knew that Zhang Zhou's words were effective, but usually Zhang Zhou would not directly give orders to Jin Yiwei. Now Mou Bin just wants Zhang Zhou to take the initiative to pick up the banner of the talker, and Jin Yiwei wants to use Zhang Zhou as his backer.

Sun Shangqi said: "I still need your great help, Duke."

"Don't say that. Follow me back to Beijing and be as low-key as possible. If there are too many royal guards around me, I will be the target of public criticism. Sometimes my words will be biased. But you should give more gifts to Eunuch Li Zhang. Only he can speak for you." Zhang Zhou reminded with a smile.

Sun Shangqi looked slightly embarrassed.

But Sun Shangqi still said truthfully: "Of course I have the share for Eunuch Li. What Commander Qimou gave you was definitely not money, but what he could do... His thoughts, after you read the gift list, you will Know."

With that said, Sun Shangqi sent over the gift list.

Zhang Zhou did not open it and read it, but directly handed it back to Sun Shangqi and said: "Then wait until the matter is completed in the capital, and then show me whether it is worth accepting. I appreciate his kindness."

……

……

Sun Shangqi went downstairs so that Zhang Zhou could rest, but he had no time to rest.

He still has to wait for several people escorted by Yongping Mansion to come over and send them to the capital together. These people can prove that the local officials and gentry in Yongping Mansion are guilty of "treason to the country". They relied on some means to The "witnesses" found.

They were all coerced and induced.

"Sir, how are you?" A member of the family left behind by Mu Bin hurriedly came over to ask Sun Shangqi.

Although Sun Shangqi was inconspicuous in front of Zhang Zhou, he was already the number one among the thousands of households in Jinyiwei, and he was also a strong contender to be the next governor of Fusi Town in Beizhen.

Sun Shangqi said: "Cai Guogong didn't open the gift list and read it. But this is what I expected."

Baihu said: "That gift is not light. In addition to the beautiful women like flowers and jade, there are also antiques, calligraphy and paintings. Each one is priceless. Commander Mou has given it all he wanted. If Cai Guogong doesn't accept it, then what will happen?" How can we go back and communicate with Commander Mou?"

Sun Shangqi stared at this person and said: "Commander Mou, don't you know what kind of character Cai Guogong is? If you want to give a gift, you are showing your attitude. Whether the gift is successful or not depends on whether the time is ripe. What kind of person is Cai Guogong? What kind of wine, sex, wealth and wealth are he? Need gifts from others? Just shut up if you don’t understand, do things honestly, and don’t miss the job from above.” (End of Chapter)