prosperous age

Chapter 1164 1255 Can't Wait
Yin Zhengmao, whose courtesy name was Yangshi and pseudonym was Shiting, was from She, Huizhou Prefecture, Nanzhili. It is said that he was the 15th generation grandson of Bingchang, who moved south during the Song Dynasty.

Yin Zhengmao became a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, on the same list as Zhang Juzheng. He was appointed as a messenger, served as a Censor in the Official and Military Department, and was transferred to be the Censor of Jiangxi.

In the 33rd year of the Jiajing reign, Yin Zhengmao, as the Censor of the Military Department, impeached and dismissed Shen Yinglong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice in Nanjing.

At that time, there were many false reports in the Beijing army. The governor, Pingjiang Earl Chen Gui, was related to the family of Yan Song by marriage, and people at that time did not dare to ask about it.

Yin Zhengmao inspected the Beijing camp and impeached Chen Gui for many illegal activities. Yan Song and his sons as well as other nobles were all angry.

When Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty was performing a fast and sacrifice ceremony, Yin Zhengmao led his fellow officials to advise and remonstrate with the emperor, which angered the emperor. He was about to be punished with a caning in the court, but was spared through a pardon from the imperial court.

This was also the reason why he was demoted from the capital. After all, it was already very good not to be punished for angering the emperor.

However, Yin Zhengmao was also known for his fairness and impartiality during his tenure. He pointed out illegal activities in government offices many times and reported them to the court, which frightened many lawless people in government offices. He handled cases fairly and cleared many wronged people.

It can be said that Yin Zhengmao was a breath of fresh air in the court at that time, but he also offended many people because of this.

As for the rumors that he was greedy for money, Wei Guangde did not comment. After all, he had never had any contact with Yin Zhengmao, and Yu Dayou had never mentioned to him that Yin Zhengmao was greedy for money.

However, it is an indisputable fact that Yin Zhengmao had military talent. In the fourth year of Longqing, he recruited 140,000 Han officers and soldiers from various places to replace Li Qian to suppress the rebellion of Wei Yinbao and Huang Chaomeng of the Gutian Tong tribe. He divided his troops into seven groups and successively destroyed dozens of nests.

Huang Chaomeng died, Wei Yinbao was betrayed by his subordinates and eventually arrested, and Yin Zhengmao was promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War for his merits.

From the fifth year of Longqing to the third year of Wanli, he served as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi while serving as the Minister of War of Nanjing. The following year, he was promoted to the Minister of Revenue of Nanjing.

The Nanjing Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the money and grain of Jiangnan. It has real power among the six ministries in Jiangnan, even more than the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel, which is in charge of the official hats in Jiangnan.

Zhang Juzheng acted as a guarantor for Yin Zhengmao, and Wei Guangde had little interest in the Ministry of Revenue. After all, Wei Guangde had no idea how Zhang Juzheng's upcoming reforms would work.

So far, Zhang Juzheng has only carried out one reform, which is the implementation of the performance evaluation system.

The Single Whip Law had already been tried out, and the only thing left was the final step, which was to implement it throughout the country.

However, because he discovered problems with the court's land tax, Zhang Juzheng came up with the idea of ​​surveying the land, and naturally the time for introducing the Single Whip Law was postponed again.

Wei Guangde kept recalling Yin Zhengmao's past in his mind, trying to decide whether to approve this matter as Zhang Juzheng planned.

Zhang Juzheng also kept silent, but seeing Wei Guangde remained silent for a long time, he finally couldn't help but speak: "It is rumored that Yang Shi is greedy for money. This time when we come to Beijing, Shandai may as well take a closer look to see if it is true.

If there is really something illegal, Shandai can just report it to the Censorate to impeach and punish him.

However, I have to say that those who are greedy for money are often good at economics, and the Ministry of Revenue is in need of such talents. "

Perhaps others did not understand what Zhang Juzheng meant, but when Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Juzheng, he saw a hint of mockery in his eyes.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng mentioned the Censorate, Wei Guangde actually guessed that the affairs between him and Chen Zan had been discovered by Zhang Juzheng.

Come to think of it, Zhang Juzheng was not an ordinary person and he attached great importance to power.

The Censorate had too much power, and it was a huge constraint even for the Prime Minister. So he naturally would not give up this office easily.

Perhaps, since Lao Kan was transferred to Beijing to serve as Deputy Chief Censor of the Censorate, Zhang Juzheng had already noticed that there was a tacit understanding between Wei Guangde and his classmate.

It's just that Chen Zan is very cautious in his work and most of the time he is methodical and will not bend the law for personal gain, so Zhang Juzheng still trusts Chen Zan.

Zhang Siwei had a group of censors helping him in the Censorate, and Zhang Juzheng realized it, so he allowed Wei Guangde to transfer Lao Kan from Fujian to the Censorate.

Speaking of which, from Zhang Juzheng's perspective, it seems that this is another balance.

He acted as a mediator to balance the influence of Wei Guangde and Zhang Siwei on the Censorate.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde's heart moved slightly.

It seems that Zhang Juzheng was not as confident in Zhang Siwei as he showed to the outside world. In fact, Zhang Juzheng was also careful in dealing with Zhang Siwei everywhere.

But think about it, it has come to this point, that person is not being careful in dealing with his colleagues around him, just like he is wary of Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei.

As for his good friends, such as Tan Lun, Zhu Heng and others, Wei Guangde was not on guard against them because they were all qualified to join the cabinet and instead needed help from him, a person who had joined the cabinet.

Since he cannot be replaced, Wei Guangde naturally means nothing to them except making friends with him.

There is no such thing as replacing someone. Not just anyone can enter the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty.

As I said, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

All I can say is that Churchill really saw through the tricks between politicians and businessmen.

What else could Wei Guangde say now? Zhang Juzheng had made it so clear.

Nodding, Wei Guangde said with a smile: "Since Uncle Brother has seen the problem so thoroughly, Shandai will naturally not object.

Shangshu Wang will be in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and Lord Yin will be transferred to take over the Ministry of Revenue.

I wonder what you think of the candidate for the Minister of Personnel recommended by Shandai earlier?"

"Nature is good."

Zhang Juzheng smiled and stroked his beard.

The two smiled at each other, and naturally today's matter was settled.

Just then, Lu Bu's voice was heard from outside the door.

"Is my master still in the Prime Minister's duty room?"

"The two adults are discussing something. Please wait a moment."

The people having the conversation were naturally the clerks on duty on both sides.

"I have an urgent report from the Ministry of War, which needs to be delivered to the adults immediately."

Lu Bu's voice came from outside again. Wei Guangde glanced at Zhang Juzheng and saw him nod slightly. Then he shouted to the outside of the door: "Lu Bu, come in."

"Yes, sir."

The person talking outside the door was Lu Bu. He walked in quickly with an official document in his hand. When he came in front of the two people, he first bowed to Zhang Juzheng, and then handed the document to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde took it and took a look at it, then a look of great joy appeared on his face.

"Good loan, what is it?"

Seeing this, Zhang Juzheng immediately asked.

"Brother Uncle, we have won a great victory in the southwest. Li Chengliang has captured the rebel Mang Yinglong and his son Mang Yingli. The 300,000-strong Burmese army is no longer in existence."

Wei Guangde had finished reading the battle report in his hand and immediately handed it to Zhang Juzheng.

"That's great. Now we can start planning for Burma."

Zhang Juzheng reached out to take the document, quickly glanced at it, and soon a smile appeared on his face.

"Shan Dai, you and I, and we need to call Ziwei along with us, and report the good news to the palace as soon as possible."

Zhang Juzheng said immediately.

"Your Majesty is still giving lectures in the Wenhua Hall on this matter."

Wei Guangde tilted his head and thought for a moment before speaking.

"Who is responsible for preaching to His Majesty today?"

Although all the courses for the young emperor Zhu Yijun were arranged by Zhang Juzheng, even including the teacher who gave lectures, he couldn't remember who had arranged it for today for a while.

"It seems to be Wang Xilie."

Wei Guangde smiled.

“Tell him that today’s lesson ends here for now and please go to Ciqing Palace.

We also need to check with Empress Dowager Li to see if she is in Cining Palace or Ciqing Palace. Invite her to go to Ciqing Palace as well."

Zhang Juzheng said immediately.

"Go and inform the eunuchs to pass a message to Wenhua Palace and Cining Palace."

Wei Guangde immediately gave instructions to Lu Bu.

The cabinet has eunuchs, and they are the ones who deliver messages to the palace. After all, it is the harem, and it is inconvenient for officials in the cabinet to enter and exit.

"Yes, sir."

After receiving the order, Lu Bu immediately bowed, left the duty room and ran out.

"Someone is coming."

At this time, the clerk on Zhang Juzheng's side also hurried in. After paying his respects, he heard Zhang Juzheng instruct him to invite Zhang Siwei here immediately.

In fact, the previous conversation inside could be heard clearly by people outside, so they knew what it was about.

The clerk immediately went out and trotted towards Zhang Siwei's duty room.

Not long after, Zhang Siwei came over.

I learned from the clerks that with the great victory in Burma, the war in the southwest was basically over. They had to go to the palace immediately to report the victory. Zhang Siwei would not delay such an important event.

"Come, Ziwei, take a look at the news just sent by the Ministry of War."

When Zhang Siwei came in, Zhang Juzheng handed him the battle report and asked him to take a look.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

Although the first battle report is very simple, it is also a routine.

After the war, victory was reported immediately.

In the next few days, detailed battle reports will be delivered one after another.

After all, a war has been fought, and just cleaning up the battlefield is a very time-consuming task.

The war is urgent. While the frontline is fighting desperately and risking its life, the rear is also worried and keeping a close eye on the progress of the war.

So there came into being this rule that after a battle, regardless of victory or defeat, the results had to be reported to the capital first.

For follow-up battle reports, after cleaning up the battlefield, understand the details clearly and then submit them continuously to reassure the people in the rear.

"Good good."

After reading the battle report, Zhang Siwei shouted "good" three times.

This was the first major event in the court after he entered the cabinet. Although this war seemed to have nothing to do with him, in fact everyone in the cabinet would benefit from it.

"Forget about He Qing, he is still recuperating in the mansion. Let's go to Ciqing Palace to report the victory."

Normally, Lu Diaoyang should have come for such a good thing, and all the cabinet ministers went to the palace together to report the victory.

But in Lu Diaoyang's situation, it doesn't matter whether we call him or not.

Zhang Siwei handed the battle report back to Zhang Juzheng, who said to Wei Guangde, "Let's go now."

"Uncle, please go first."

Wei Guangde slightly turned sideways to let Zhang Juzheng walk in front, and then he followed. Zhang Siwei lagged slightly behind Wei Guangde by half a body length.

The three men left the cabinet and saw the tail of the emperor's procession from afar.

Obviously the news had already reached Wenhua Hall, so Wang Xilie had no choice but to suspend the class and ask His Majesty to return to the palace first.

When Wei Guangde and others walked through the gate of Wenhua Palace, Wang Xilie happened to come out. Seeing all the cabinet ministers gathered, Wang Xilie hurriedly bowed to greet them.

"Zi Zhong, today things happened in a hurry, and I didn't have time to inform you in advance."

Zhang Juzheng also bowed in return, while explaining.

"Are the three ministers heading to the harem?"

The news came, but the reason was not explained. It only said that there was an important matter and asked His Majesty to go to Ciqing Palace.

Zhu Yijun didn't like Wang Xilie's class very much, so he ran away as soon as he got the news.

At this time, the news outside the palace might have spread to the government office, but people in the imperial city might not know about it. Wang Xilie was still in class, so naturally he had no way of knowing.

"Today, the Ministry of War reported a victory. Li Chengliang, the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Right Army Office, led his troops to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Burmese army and captured the Burmese king Mang Yinglong and his son Mang Yingli alive, so we have to go to the palace to report this matter."

Zhang Juzheng shook the battle report in his hand and said to Wang Xilie with a smile.

"God bless the Ming Dynasty. I heard that the rebels had gathered 300,000 soldiers and horses to invade our borders. I was a little worried, but now I can rest assured with this victory news."

Wang Xilie's face immediately showed joy.

Although Ming officials looked down on the surrounding vassal states, especially vassal states like Myanmar, they were not considered Xuanweisi.

But after all, they assembled an army of 300,000 people. The fact that such a small country like Myanmar could mobilize so many troops really shocked the court.

Military affairs are inherently mysterious, and having more soldiers does not guarantee victory.

Moreover, the Ming Dynasty’s military forces in the southwest did not actually have an advantage.

There is a huge gap between the Ming Dynasty and Myanmar. In fact, that is because the Ming Dynasty can continuously draw troops and fight with Myanmar more often.

However, a country like Myanmar, which mobilized 300,000 troops at one time, has never happened in the history of the Ming Dynasty in the past hundred years.

For the Ming Dynasty today, it is already quite difficult to mobilize an army of 100,000.

Ordinary people may not understand this, but important officials in the court are well aware of it.

"We won't delay any longer. The palace is still waiting for news."

Zhang Juzheng laughed.

"Please, sir."

Wang Xilie stepped aside and bowed.

Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and three others quickly arrived at the Ciqing Palace. At this time, Empress Dowager Li also came from the Cining Palace and had already entered. The little emperor was also inside.

After the three of them asked for an audience, a eunuch came out shortly after to announce, "The Queen wants the three elders to come in."

"Good work."

Zhang Juzheng thanked him and quickly entered the Ciqing Palace with Wei Guangde and others.

He is a seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, not to mention that this is the empress dowager's place, and these are the empress dowager's people.

"We congratulate your majesty, Your Majesty, on the great victory in the southwest."

Soon, the three men met the three masters of the harem. Without any delay, they congratulated them and directly handed over the victory report from the Ministry of War.

Empress Dowager Chen read the victory report first, then handed it to Empress Dowager Li beside her and said with a smile: "Just when we were talking about the southwest, victory report was delivered today. It seems that it is really a blessing from heaven. May God bless the Ming Dynasty."

After Empress Dowager Li took the report and read it, she also smiled and said, "It seems that this matter has been completed. This should also be a sign from heaven to us."

The victory report reached the young emperor Zhu Yijun, but before he could read it, he heard his mother, Empress Dowager Li, asking, "Prime Minister Zhang, Second Prime Minister Wei, now that the southwest has been decided, shouldn't the court also come up with a set of rules?"

If Feng Bao reported in the morning, everything would just be a plan because the results of the war in Burma had not yet come out, then it would be time to enter the stage of specific implementation.

Empress Dowager Li was already getting impatient at this time.

After hearing what Empress Dowager Li said, all the bigwigs present, except Zhang Siwei, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde, knew what was going on.

"According to the regulations, the establishment of a province has to wait until Myanmar is completely pacified. However, we will ask the Ministry of Rites to prepare the ceremony today, so it won't take too much time."

Zhang Juzheng bowed and replied.

"We have to wait until it is completely settled."

Empress Dowager Li was inevitably disappointed with Zhang Juzheng's answer.

"Sister, follow the court's rules. There is no need to rush."

At this time, Queen Mother Chen spoke up, "Wei Ci Fu, you have always been in charge of the Burmese affairs. As for Li Aiqing, you must urge him to pacify Burma as soon as possible. The court will not be short of rewards."

"I understand. I will ask the Ministry of War to issue a document to supervise this matter."

Wei Guangde immediately took half a step forward and answered.