prosperous age

Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao have been allies for many years. Zhang Juzheng is in charge of the outer court, while Feng Bao controls the inner court. They have always been the golden pair in the Ming Dynasty's political arena.

Once Zhang Juzheng was in mourning, the original power structure would inevitably change drastically, which was obviously not in Feng Bao's interests.

This is also the reason why Feng Bao hoped that the emperor would "take away the love" more than Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng also realized the seriousness of the matter. You know, at this time, the new policy of "Performance Evaluation System" led by him had been implemented for the fifth year. The performance evaluation system began to show results, and it was a critical stage for continued deepening in various fields.

Zhang Juzheng knew very well that if he returned to his hometown to mourn his father, he would lose his position as prime minister, and it would be extremely difficult for him to return to the pinnacle of power.

Zhang Cong, Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Jie and Gao Gong were the only prime ministers who had resigned and were able to return to the position two years after leaving office.

To ensure that his political ideals continue to be implemented, there is no other way but to seize the emotions.

Zhang Juzheng actually didn't want to return to his hometown to mourn his father, but he couldn't say it.

Since ancient times, loyal ministers have been filial sons. He is a loyal minister and a filial son, and he is also a moral model of the Ming Dynasty. He can only observe filial piety.

It is naturally the best choice to let Feng Bao handle these things now.

"I have asked Li Youzi to make a petition, and tomorrow the Imperial Censor Zeng Shichu and the Personnel Department's Deputy Secretary Chen Sanmo will also make a petition."

Feng Bao told Zhang Juzheng about his arrangements, firstly to let him check if there were any omissions, and secondly to let him make preparations in advance.

If the relationship is "seized" at this time, the reaction of the court will be unpredictable.

"Li Youzi?"

At this point, Zhang Juzheng gave up his original hesitation.

It is necessary to give up the relationship, stay in the court, and continue the ongoing work.

His previous actions had offended many officials, and he would be unwilling to see the great cause of reform abandoned halfway.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and then asked, "Brother Shuanglin, have you asked the Minister of Rites?"

"Ma Ziqiang? I talked to him, but he disagreed, thinking it was against etiquette.

But I have already told him that this is what the Queen Mother and the Emperor meant, so I think he should understand what I said. "

Feng Bao said happily.

"As long as the Ministry of Rites remains silent on this matter, there won't be any major problems."

Zhang Juzheng thought of the cabinet and the six ministers, and apart from his people, they were Wei Guangde's people.

Wei Guangde, actually he hopes that he can make changes in the Ming Dynasty, so he should not join others to oppose the seizure of love.

Although Wei Guangde's performance in the past two days has made it clear to the court and the public that without Zhang Juzheng, the cabinet can still function smoothly.

But after more than ten years of friendship with Wei Guangde, he thought he had enough understanding of him.

Like him, Wei Guangde came from the lower-middle class of society. He had sufficient understanding of the cities and countryside of the Ming Dynasty and knew the sufferings of the people.

Although the introduction of the performance evaluation system has hurt a minority of the people, the reforms he is promoting are still good for the majority of the people and will reduce their burden.

Zhang Juzheng had a clear understanding of the importance of the minority and the majority.

If Wei Guangde was really eager to replace him, after the performance evaluation system and the land survey were introduced, as long as he raised his hand, countless people would gather around him.

But Wei Guangde did not do so. He still focused only on the affairs of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works assigned to him by the cabinet.

Although Wei Guangde has now begun to interfere in the personnel and affairs of other government offices, that is what every cabinet minister would do. He just didn't know these things at the beginning because he had no teacher to guide him.

Yes, if cabinet ministers want to influence the court, the easiest way is to place their own people in various government offices, so that they can implement their own ideas quietly through them.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng gently stroked his beautiful beard under his chin, smoothing out the messy beard.

Zhang Juzheng's beard was the longest in the court, and no one else's beard was as long as his.

"That way, I feel relieved."

Feng Bao kept smiling as he continued, "As for Uncle Da, we should also do something about it.

This afternoon, Li Youzi's memorial should be delivered to the palace."

"Ah."

Zhang Juzheng just nodded slightly, but there was no smile on his face.

After all, his father had died and Zhang Juzheng was still in mourning.

In the Forbidden City, in the Cabinet, Wei Guangde is on duty.

At this time, Lu Bu was whispering in his ear the news coming from outside.

"Eunuch Feng went to the Ministry of Rites first, then to the Ministry of Revenue, and then summoned the Censor."

After Lu Bu whispered the news from Zhang Ji, he stepped aside.

Wei Guangde was still concentrating on reading the memorial in his hand, as if it had no effect on him at all.

"Is he still in Zhang Mansion now?"

Wei Guangde just asked casually.

Although he seemed to be reading a memorial, he actually did not read a single word of its contents.

Although he really hoped that Zhang Juzheng would take over and continue his great reform cause, Wei Guangde instinctively hoped that Zhang Juzheng would leave and he would take over.

Even though he knew that being the Prime Minister of the Cabinet would definitely not be an easy task for him at this time.

In fact, even if Wei Guangde chose to stay at home, Tan Lun, Jiang Zhi and others would come to his house to talk about this matter in the next two days.

Seeing that Wei Guangde was able to reach the top in one step, the people behind him naturally became a little restless.

This is the first time that a fellow Jiangxi native has been so close to the position of prime minister since the fall of Yan Song.

Once Wei Guangde comes to power, although it is impossible for them to follow him into the cabinet, they can pave the way for others.

In fact, after Yan Song's downfall, it became difficult for Jiangxi officials to enter the cabinet again, also because Yan Song's downfall was hasty and without much preparation.

Most of the Jiangxi officials during Yan Song's period were too old and frail to continue to be active in the court.

Other Jiangxi officials were also liquidated by Xu Jie because they were too close to the Yan family.

At that time, Wei Guangde was still holding an idle position and had no way to deal with the situation, so he could only let it go.

When he came to power, the high-ranking officials in Jiangxi were either sent to other places or retired, and the rest were unfamiliar to him, so he could only slowly train those who had passed the imperial examinations in recent years.

The higher you get, the fewer people are left.

"I heard that Eunuch Feng said that he was representing the palace to express condolences before, but today he is representing himself."

Lu Bu followed up on Wei Guangde's words and answered immediately.

Wei Guangde just nodded imperceptibly, and then said: "I understand, go down, and report any news in time."

After Lu Bu walked out of the duty room, Wei Guangde stopped pretending and threw the memorial in front of him and started thinking.

The same scene was also happening in Zhang Siwei's duty room not far away.

Although Zhang Siwei seemed to be close to Zhang Juzheng, by the time he reached this position, he had already gained the strength to form his own faction.

Relying on the connections and relationships left by relatives such as Yang Bo, plus the friendships he made in his early years, the political theories he had mastered were actually not inferior to Wei Guangde.

It’s just that he usually doesn’t show off his abilities, so even if he does something, it is considered to be arranged by Zhang Juzheng.

As Zhang Juzheng was in mourning, Zhang Siwei could take advantage of the situation and be promoted to the position of Second Assistant. Although Wei Guangde was still above him, he was still a minister of state. Before Wei Guangde made a fatal mistake, Zhang Siwei could not replace him. But like Wei Guangde, he also wanted to compete instinctively.

Not only him, but the people behind him also hope so.

The third person in the cabinet can only be a cabinet minister, and the second person is the second assistant, who has much more say than a cabinet minister.

Feng Bao has been very active these past two days, and Zhang Siwei has more or less guessed what they are trying to do.

However, Zhang Juzheng did not meet him in the two days after he left the cabinet.

Zhang Siwei still couldn't take the initiative to contact Feng Bao to show goodwill.

Feng Bao's current activeness has probably made many people in the government and the public keep an eye on him.

Once the news of his contact with Feng Bao got out at this time, not to mention whether he could get in touch with Feng Bao, if Feng Bao still chose Zhang Juzheng, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

"Is there any action from the Cifu side?"

Zhang Siwei asked in a low voice.

The clerk beside him immediately replied, "No, some people went to his house last night, and the deputy assistant minister went straight back home after the court session.

I entered the cabinet this morning and have been staying in the duty room to deal with memorials."

"Okay, you go down first.

Tell the people outside to keep an eye on the officials in the court. I want to know their every move."

Zhang Siwei nodded slightly. He had more or less guessed what Wei Guangde meant, which was to respond to all changes with the same attitude.

After everyone left the duty room and he was the only one left in the room, Zhang Siwei showed a scornful smile on his face and murmured, "It's so easy to seize love."

Zhang Siwei's eyes couldn't help but stare in one direction, which was where Wei Guangde was on duty.

"Zhang Juzheng wants to seize the love, so can Wei Guangde be involved as well? He is also seizing the love and returning to the court, so he should have a mourning period of about a year."

But soon, Zhang Siwei shook his head. Wei Guangde's mourning period had long passed, and it would be useless to bring up the past now.

Moreover, it would be easy for Wei Guangde to notice him and guess the person behind the attack.

“Forget it, just do what you have to do, and don’t act rashly.

Regardless of whether the matter can be accomplished in the end, the first thing to do is to ensure that you are clean. "

Zhang Siwei made up his mind to remain silent on the surface and do his job with all his heart, just like Wei Guangde, to secure his position as a cabinet minister first.

Privately, we still have to use the officials in Jiangnan to prevent the "love-stealing" incident from happening.

On the surface, Zhang Siwei is backed by a faction of Shanxi officials.

But in fact, there were many Jianghuai officials standing behind him. They were officials supported by gentry who had business ties with their families. It was just that Zhang Siwei had nothing to do with them on the surface.

This time, Zhang Siwei planned to let them take the lead in opposing the love-stealing.

As for Zhang Juzheng's reform measures, although they were beneficial to the court, he believed that it would not be a big deal if the court did not implement them.

We have been living like this for many years, so what does it matter whether we change it or not?

What's more, if the land survey really begins, there's no guarantee that his family's land will be noticed by others.

Zhang Siwei's family not only owned vast tracts of land in Shanxi, but also in Jiangnan, all of which were purchased with the money earned from trading salt.

The Xu Jie family owned a huge amount of land, but the Zhang Siwei family, a merchant family with a long history of business, was not far behind.

The Xu family owns fields and textile workshops, while the Zhang family has their own trade routes and salt roads. The Zhang family is much richer than the Xu family.

The Xu family became wealthy by benefiting from the imperial court, while the Zhang family took advantage of the imperial court's loopholes, which is much cleaner.

During the Shen Shizhong period, Li Youzi's memorial was finally sent to the Ministry of Public Security.

The officials of the Ministry of Public Administration were all trembling with fear when they saw Li Youzi's memorial.

There is no other reason. Li Youzi is from the Ministry of Revenue. Everyone knows that the Prime Minister of the current dynasty controls the Ministry of Revenue. Does Li Youzi's memorial represent the will of the Prime Minister?

The Ministry of Public Security did not dare to delay and immediately sent the memorial to the palace, handed it over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for registration, and then sent it to the cabinet for approval.

Feng Bao was in the Imperial Household Department at that time. When he saw Li Youzi's memorial, he was very satisfied.

"The country cannot be without a Prime Minister for a day. I implore the Emperor to grant him the favor and allow him to remain in office."

Feng Bao held a copy of Li Youzi's memorial in his hand, reading the sentences on it softly and nodding his head.

This is exactly what the emperor said, "The court needs Mr. Zhang."

He beckoned over his trusted eunuch and whispered in his ear, "Spread the news. The emperor said in front of the two Empress Dowagers that 'the court needs Mr. Zhang.' I want this to spread throughout the officialdom of the capital tonight."

"Yes, Grandpa."

The eunuch was Feng Bao's adopted son, who was sent to him for training because he was smart and capable.

The current Feng Bao is the most powerful ancestor in the palace.

At this time, the Ministry of Public Administration received the news that Li Youzi had requested the emperor to "take away his love" and let the Prime Minister stay in office to observe the mourning period. The news spread rapidly to all the government offices in the capital as if it had wings.

Many officials then realized the reason behind Feng Bao's activeness today.

First he went to see Ma Ziqiang, then he went to the Ministry of Revenue to see Li Youzi, and finally to Zhang Juzheng.

Although it seems that Feng Bao was pushing this matter, there is no guarantee that this was not Zhang Juzheng's intention.

After all, Feng Bao also went to see him the day before, and after some operations the next day, he went to see him again.

Feng Bao has completely revealed all the cards in his hand, and now it depends on the reactions of the court officials.

"Go, send someone to inquire about the cabinet's news and see what Wei Ci Fu has in mind."

At this time, many people looked towards the cabinet, waiting for Wei Guangde's reaction.

Wei Guangde has been working diligently in the cabinet these days, and I'm afraid he will not tolerate this happening.

Li Youzi's memorial was like a bomb, which caused a huge ripple and strongly shook the Ming Dynasty's court.

His memorial was quickly registered in the Imperial Household Department and then sent to Wei Guangde.

The matter was of great importance, so naturally he, as the second assistant, had to make the draft.

In fact, love-stealing was not uncommon in the Ming Dynasty.

For example, Yang Rong of the Yongle Dynasty, Yang Pu and Jin Youzi of the Xuande Dynasty, Jiang Yuan and Wang Wen of the Jingtai Dynasty, and Li Xian of the Chenghua Dynasty all had affairs of their own.

When Jiang Yuan petitioned to observe mourning for his father, Emperor Jingtai refused, saying that "the country is in need of talented people, and it is unreasonable to ask him to take up official duties without any personal connection."

When Wang Wen petitioned to observe mourning, Emperor Jingtai refused, saying, "I rely on your guidance. You should not sacrifice justice for personal favors. You should suppress your emotions and obey my orders, and be a filial son."

Now the hot potato seems to have fallen into Wei Guangde's hands, and countless eyes are watching his draft.

Don’t think that the cabinet’s draft should be kept confidential before it is released. In fact, the cabinet’s secretariat has to register memorials sent back and forth, so he can naturally see the contents of the cabinet ministers’ draft.

There was a similar procedure in the Imperial Household Department, so the news could be easily found out before it was approved.

After reading Li Youzi's memorial, Wei Guangde had actually guessed the final result.

In response to this, Wei Guangde directly wrote a draft: This matter is of great importance. Although there are precedents, I dare not speak rashly. I hope Your Majesty will make a wise decision.

Everyone knows how to play football. No one from the future can't play football. (End of this chapter)