prosperous age

"The Ministry of Personnel rejected the emperor's order and refused to issue the document to the Prime Minister to stay in Beijing to observe the mourning period."

"Yes, I thought that after three requests and three resignations, Prime Minister Zhang would have to wear mourning clothes to work in the cabinet, but I didn't expect that there would be people who openly oppose it."

At this moment, the news spread throughout the government offices in the capital, and officials who were familiar with each other would inevitably talk about the matter in private when they met.

"How dare he, how dare he."

In the Imperial Household Department, Feng Bao looked at the note sent by Wang Guoguang and said in disbelief.

In his early years, Zhang Han was attached to Zhang Juzheng, and it was Zhang Juzheng who recommended him to be the Minister of Personnel.

Who could have thought that he would do something bad in secret?

To win love, it must be smooth, without any twists and turns.

After all, officials are well aware of the principle of one person for one job.

From a national perspective, the emperor stepped in to prevent ministers from returning home to mourn their fathers.

After all, mourning is just a family affair, not as serious as a national affair. There have been several precedents of taking away love before the Ming Dynasty.

For example, in the second year of Chenghua, Emperor Zhu Jianshen was already 21 years old. There were no major national events, and Prime Minister Li Xian did not have to stay, but he was still able to take over.

The problem was that Zhang Juzheng had become the target of public criticism, and the Ming Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, so there were few opportunities to justify Zhang Juzheng's resignation.

Feng Bao was much calmer than Zhang Juzheng. He knew that because of the new policy, many officials were actually dissatisfied with the Prime Minister.

It was just because of the power of the Prime Minister, especially the fact that the six departments were supervised personally by the Prime Minister, that his power increased greatly.

In this situation, few ordinary officials are willing to stand up and oppose the "seizure of love".

But everything is afraid of someone taking the lead. Now the Ministry of Personnel has taken the lead in firing the first shot against "seizing love", and it is in the government office controlled by Zhang Juzheng. What about the subsequent reaction?

Feng Bao felt his scalp tingling just thinking about it and didn't dare to think any further.

Zhang Han, the man who was destined to leave the court, did not expect to do so at the last moment.

"Come here, all the memorials sent by the outer courts opposing the seizure of love should be handed over to me immediately."

At this time, the first remedial measure Feng Bao thought of was to control speech and prevent the voices of "opposition" from reaching the palace.

Yes, the Imperial Household Department has this capability.

All memorials, whether sent directly to the emperor or to the cabinet for drafting, have to go through the Imperial Household Department.

As long as this position is locked, the direction of the memorial can be controlled.

Although it cannot influence the discussions outside the court, at least the news in the palace can be controlled.

It is no longer possible to send it directly to the emperor.

When the emperor was young, he could not handle affairs independently. All memorials had to go through the Silijian to the cabinet for drafting, and the eunuchs in charge of writing could not approve them independently. They had to either approve them according to the cabinet's draft or submit them to the two Empress Dowagers for a decision.

It should be said that the current eunuchs who hold the seal are actually not more powerful than during the reigns of Emperors Jiajing and Longqing. It’s just that Huang Jin and others are not power-abusing people and have not used this power to benefit themselves.

Of course, the most important thing is that the emperor did not delegate power to them, after all, there was the empress dowager above them.

However, the advantage that eunuchs have over court officials and even cabinet ministers is that they are the people closest to the emperor and the empress dowager, and are also the people they trust the most.

Feng Bao could only keep the news secret and not let anyone in the palace know. Fortunately, he had cleaned up the palace once because of "rumors" before.

However, since the matter had already happened, Feng Bao also knew that he had to let Zhang Juzheng deal with it as soon as possible, otherwise all their efforts would be wasted.

At this time, in the side room of the mourning hall in Zhang's mansion, Zhang Juzheng also received the news and learned that the Minister of Personnel Zhang Han had actually taken the lead in submitting a memorial to oppose the "seizure of love."

This incident made Zhang Juzheng doubt his ability to handle affairs for the first time.

He was just a little indecisive. Unexpectedly, he loosened his grip a little and wanted to save Zhang Han's face and leave the court in a dignified manner, but he chose to put him in a dilemma of being disloyal and unfilial.

Zhang Han's memorial directly tore off the fig leaf of "seizing love", although it was not what he wanted at the beginning.

But at this point, who would believe what he said? Feng Bao had already manipulated the entire incident.

If I had discovered at the beginning that Zhang Han had ulterior motives because of the cabinet ministers' matter and dealt with him ruthlessly, what happened today would never have happened.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng still felt somewhat guilty and even thought of Liu Tai.

Among the court officials, how many would choose to be "Liu Tai"?

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but take a breath.

Even though Liu Tai's family had been exiled to Guangxi, Zhang Juzheng was still aware that the Liu family's reputation among the literati had risen, especially Liu Tai.

Nowadays, when scholars outside see or talk about Liu Tai, they all respectfully call him "Mr. Liu" to express their admiration for his heroic spirit of not fearing the powerful and the wealthy.

Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and finally made up his mind.

He picked up a pen, quickly wrote a note, folded it and sealed it in an envelope, then stamped the seal with his own private seal and asked someone to send it out immediately.

This child cannot be kept.

Zhang Juzheng had already realized the dangers of the power game in the court, so he took action when necessary, and only used ruthlessness to interrupt those people from having inappropriate thoughts.

Thousands of miles away, the Liu family members who were still on the road to exile would never have imagined what they would encounter after arriving at the place of exile.

And these seem to have nothing to do with them.

No one cared whether Liu Tai was feeling relieved or regretful at this moment. For a small person, no one cared about his life or death.

This is what it means when a fire breaks out in the imperial court, everyone in the pond will be affected. Many things will not only have consequences if you do them, but you may also suffer even if you do nothing.

As for Zhang Juzheng, he had no choice but to go down this path.

The palace has already started thinking about "seizing the love", and he really can't let go of the ongoing political reforms, so he can only choose to follow his heart.

Feng Bao could suppress the memorial for a while, but he could not stop the spread of the news.

At this time, Wei Guangde also learned the news from Lu Bu from the Ministry of Public Security.

"Zhang Han, this man is so bold."

When Wei Guangde heard Lu Bu's report, he was stunned.

This person was almost forgotten by him, but unexpectedly, this action made the officials in the capital hear his name again.

"Are you taking revenge on Zhang Juzheng or are you trying to emulate Liu Tai and keep a good reputation?"

Wei Guangde was surprised and couldn't help muttering.

"It would be best if you pay attention to Zhang Han's memorials."

Wei Guangde originally wanted to arrange for this memorial to be assigned to the Secretariat and give it to Zhang Siwei, but after thinking about it, he knew that it would not work.

This matter is of no small importance and must be personally approved by him as the Second Prime Minister.

Moreover, the top figure in the Imperial Household Department would not submit memorials to the Cabinet at will.

Feng Bao will definitely take some action before submitting the memorial to the cabinet.

For example, he would contact himself or Zhang Siwei, or even find Zhang Juzheng to discuss how to draft the bill.

Wei Guangde hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and asked Lu Bu to leave the duty room. He continued to deal with the memorials that were sent to him.

Having made up his mind, he decided to deal with everything by remaining silent and wait and see how Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao would handle the matter in the end.

It would do him no harm to ruin Zhang Juzheng's reputation appropriately.

In any case, he and Zhang Juzheng were political enemies. Although they were also political allies, there was no need to make it public.

Wei Guangde had already thought it through and decided to play Tai Chi and leave the decision to the palace for judgment. He would not express his opinion.

This is also a common trick used by those officials who are unstoppable. If they cannot make a decision, they will push it to the emperor. At least they will not make mistakes.

If you do more, you will make more mistakes; if you do less, you will make more mistakes; if you do less, you will make more mistakes.

If he participated in the overthrow of Zhang, even if some people praised him, there would probably be a lot of people gossiping behind his back, saying that he coveted the position of Prime Minister.

Instead of doing this, it is better to stay out of it, just work hard and do your own job well.

Zhang Han's big move involved the entire Beijing officialdom. Everyone was watching to see how the subsequent events would develop, wanting to know whether Zhang Juzheng would continue to serve as the Prime Minister in mourning or return home to mourn. Sure enough, at night, after Wei Guangde had seen off the visiting guests in his mansion, the door of his mansion was knocked again, and a man wrapped in a cloak walked into the Wei mansion.

This was not Feng Bao's first time here, so he was familiar with the place. Even the doorman recognized the face hidden under the cloak at a glance.

When Wei Guangde got the news, he just smiled bitterly, shook his head, said something to his wife, and went out of the backyard to the front.

In a secluded flower hall, Wei Guangde saw Feng Bao who came there.

After dismissing his attendants, Feng Bao went straight to the point. He knew that the news of Zhang Han's memorial could not be concealed from Wei Guangde.

The news has spread like wildfire in the capital, how can we hide it?

"Shandai, what do you think about this?"

Feng Bao went straight to the point and asked directly.

Before coming, he had secretly met with Zhang Juzheng and learned some of his speculations from Zhang.

Although he still felt unsafe, Feng Bao still wanted to come and ask in person.

"What's the matter?"

Wei Guangde said this half-heartedly.

"About Zhang Han's memorial."

Feng Bao called out his name directly, with no respect in his tone, only contempt.

"I heard about it, but I didn't see it."

Wei Guangde kept making excuses and didn't want to give a direct answer at all.

"The memorial is here with me."

As he spoke, Feng Bao took out from his sleeve the memorial from Zhang Han that had shaken the officialdom in the capital.

Wei Guangde pretended not to hear this and had no intention of reaching out to take it. He just shook his head at Feng Bao.

He was not Feng Bao's enemy, at least he didn't want to be his enemy now.

If this memorial appeared here and was seen by other people in the palace, Feng Bao would be in big trouble.

How can a memorial be taken out of the palace at will?

To put it in a small way, it is disrespectful to the imperial power; to put it in a big way, it can be a capital disaster.

Wei Guangde refused to answer and could naturally say that he didn't know whether it was true or not because he had never seen it.

Feng Bao dared to take it out openly because he knew that Wei Guangde would not tell tales. He was not that kind of person. He had never harmed anyone in his many years as an official.

Of course, there were many indirect injuries.

At the very least, in order for the people he supported to get to the top, those who originally had more reasons to get to the top must have been deprived of the opportunity.

It is impossible to say that it has no impact on people.

Seeing that Wei Guangde didn't answer, Feng Bao didn't get angry, but said seriously, "Zhang Han is not a good person and ruined my plan."

"Oh."

Wei Guangde just responded indifferently and didn't continue the conversation.

"When a memorial comes to you, how will you draft it?"

Although Feng Bao felt a little unhappy, he did not show it, but asked directly.

“I have no way of expressing my opinion on this matter.”

Wei Guangde still spoke in a calm tone, as if it had nothing to do with him at all.

Hearing this, Feng Bao just frowned slightly.

In fact, Feng Bao felt relieved when he heard his words, because Zhang Juzheng analyzed Wei Guangde's current mentality.

"He will not take the initiative to participate in this matter. The court is always in a turbulent period. Shandai will not take the initiative to take over the position of Prime Minister because it is too troublesome."

These were Zhang Juzheng's original words, and Feng Bao was recalling them in his mind at this moment.

He now understood the meaning of Zhang Juzheng's words. "He" would not show any desire for the position of Prime Minister, but he would not give up easily either. He would just go with the flow and let the palace decide.

Feng Bao didn’t believe it before. No one would refuse to go further, but he would not. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be who he is today.

But now seeing Wei Guangde's reaction, it seemed that Zhang Juzheng had really guessed it.

However, even though he thought so, Feng Bao still asked: "Shan Dai, give me a definite answer, how do you want to draft it?"

Wei Guangde just frowned slightly when he heard this. His meaning had actually been made clear, but he didn't expect Feng Bao to continue to ask questions, which was very inappropriate.

This is a taboo in official circles.

However, thinking about the importance of this matter to him and Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde felt slightly relieved.

"Please respectfully ask for your judgment."

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly and answered in a low voice.

The sound was so small that it was barely audible. If Feng Bao had not been concentrating at the moment, he would have almost not been able to hear it clearly.

Feng Bao stared at Wei Guangde for a while, then nodded slightly, clasped his hands together and said, "Thank you very much."

After saying that, Feng Bao stood up and said goodbye and left.

Wei Guangde just sat in the chair without moving, and had no intention of sending him out.

This is actually also Wei Guangde's attitude.

It’s not that he can’t send it, but he just can’t send it.

There was no need for any political deal with Feng Bao.

As for the cabinet affairs, that was a deal between Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao. There was no need for him to get involved now.

After a while, Zhang Ji entered the hall, stood in front of Wei Guangde and whispered, "Master, the person is gone."

"Ah."

Wei Guangde was not sent out, but Zhang Ji, who was guarding outside, was not so careless, so he sent Feng Bao out of the mansion immediately after he came out, and then came back immediately.

"It's okay. I'm going back to the backyard. You can rest too."

Wei Guangde then stood up and walked straight to the backyard.

Although he didn't know why Feng Bao came so late, but thinking about the events in the capital in the past two days, Zhang Ji could guess it to some extent.

However, even Zhang Ji, the person closest to him, had no idea what the two of them talked about and what the result was.

The two of them did not argue in the room and their voices were very low. When Feng Bao came out, his face showed neither joy nor sorrow, which made it hard to understand what the conversation was about.

When they arrived at the backyard, Madam Xu Jianglan only said a word of concern, knowing that it was Feng Bao who came tonight.

Then she said nothing more.

There was a big commotion in the court, and even she in the backyard had heard about it. The Duke Dingguo's Mansion had sent a lot of gifts today.

However, looking at Wei Guangde's expression, Xu Jianglan guessed that it was not that simple.

"Madam, do you think I should compete for the position of Prime Minister?"

Considering that it was the imperial residence, and that she had frequent contacts with nobles and other families of the powerful in the capital, Wei Guangde took the initiative to tell her about this matter, so as to avoid her doing something wrong outside and saying something wrong, which might cause misunderstanding.

“I don’t fight for anything, doing my job well is fighting because I can put order into the court.

I don't fight because the court is too complicated now, and if I take over, I will have to deal with the mess left by my uncle." (End of this chapter)