prosperous age

"Are there any important matters to discuss at your desks today?"

Inside the cabinet, in Wei Guangde's office, the three cabinet elders sat down and chatted casually.

"No."

Zhang Siwei, in his short-term teacup conversation, succinctly put it.

Shen Shixing smiled and said, "The country has been peaceful these past two years, with favorable weather and abundant harvests. Apart from local officials reporting on the emperor's well-being and the harvest, there haven't been any major incidents."

"This is actually quite good. There's nothing serious, so everyone can just sit down and chat casually."

Good weather and abundant harvests, peace and prosperity—this is what everyone desires. If things could stay this way forever, that would be wonderful.

Wei Guangde immediately laughed.

The memorials on my desk during this period were all trivial matters, but there wasn't a single one concerning any real national affairs.

Nothing going on naturally means that the cabinet doesn't have to clean up anyone's messes.

The cabinet of the Ming Dynasty was essentially a paperhanger. If something was damaged, they would stick a piece of paper on it to make it look fixed, and that would be it. In any case, if it tore again in a few years, they would just stick on another piece of paper.

"I had many thoughts after returning from Zhang Gong's residence yesterday."

Lord Zhang was so devoted to public service, I never expected him to fall so ill. Lord Wei and Brother Ziwei, please take good care of yourselves too.

Shen Shixing spoke up at this moment.

"I never expected that my uncle would turn out like that after only a month or so."

Wei Guangde also sighed deeply and remarked with emotion.

Yesterday, after the government office closed, the three people who had gathered here left the cabinet together and went to visit Zhang Juzheng at his residence.

They did see the person, but what they saw surprised them greatly.

The handsome, bearded man with flowing sleeves they remembered was gone; only a seemingly dying old man lay on his sickbed.

Keep in mind that Zhang Juzheng is only in his fifties, not even sixty yet.

Think of Yan Song and Xu Jie; neither of them lived to be seventy or eighty years old.

But Zhang Juzheng seemed to be the first to give up. The man in his fifties looked like he was seventy, and he was already in a state of desolation.

When Wei Guangde finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of Zhang Siwei's lips subtly curving upwards out of the corner of his eye, but he forcibly suppressed the smile before it could even appear.

"Zhang Gong is in this state because he has been overworked for the country. Wei Gong and Shen Gong should also pay attention to resting."

Zhang Siwei then spoke.

“When the land survey was conducted a couple of years ago, Uncle Da and Ru Mo, you two worked non-stop without a moment’s rest, didn’t you?”

Wei Guangde looked at Shen Shixing and said.

"Those two years were indeed very tough, but I was young and managed to get through it."

In fact, Shen Shixing was even more overworked than Zhang Juzheng at that time. Not only did he have to assist Zhang Juzheng in handling various official duties in the cabinet, but he also had to go out from time to time to deal with some matters on the ground.

"Hehe, you're still young, it's not appropriate to say that here."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Shen Shixing finished speaking, Zhang Siwei let out a hearty laugh.

At first, Shen Shixing didn't react, but after a moment, when he saw Wei Guangde's face, Shen Shixing realized that he seemed to be three years older than Wei Guangde.

Well, in the cabinet, Vice Minister Wei is the youngest person.

Of course, although he was young, he still had to call Shen Shixing "senior" because Shen Shixing had entered officialdom much earlier than him.

The only one who could claim a significant advantage was Zhang Siwei, who was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the thirty-second year of the Jiajing reign (1553), one year earlier than Wei Guangde.

But he was lucky. He was valued by the Jiajing Emperor from the beginning, and later became a favorite minister of the Longqing Emperor after entering the Yuzhi Palace. Now, as the second assistant minister, he is firmly ahead of him and is the second most influential "imperial tutor" after Zhang Juzheng.

There's really no comparison. Zhang Juzheng had far too many advantages. Moreover, at the most crucial moment, Wei Guangde only had an emperor above him, while Zhang Juzheng had a good teacher who paved the way for him and cleared obstacles for him.

As for Zhang Siwei, he was the oldest of the three, a few years younger than Zhang Juzheng, and also over fifty years old.

"After returning to my residence yesterday, I thought about many things."

Wei Guangde didn't respond to that question. Instead, he reached out and picked up the teacup, supporting the base with one hand and gently stirring the tea with the lid of the cup in the other, before taking a small sip.

However, throughout the entire process, neither Zhang Siwei nor Shen Shixing below made any move; they all looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

This is the kind of aura that Wei Guangde has cultivated, and given his current situation, it certainly is.

With Zhang Juzheng falling ill, the power of speech in the court had essentially fallen into his hands, and his every move would be interpreted in various ways by his colleagues.

"The imperial physician also said yesterday that my eldest brother's condition is due to overwork and lack of rest."

When I got back, I thought about how our cabinet handles a wide variety of affairs, unlike the Six Ministries or other government offices, which have simpler tasks.

Therefore, should the working hours of cabinet ministers also differ from those of their colleagues?

For example, could the time for the cabinet to announce the start of the workday be postponed to the middle or end of the Chen hour?

After all, each government office has on-duty officials to handle urgent official business.

Even if you're unsure, just report to the official in charge and wait for their decision.

But we not only have to be at the cabinet by the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), but even after the official business is over, we are also required to be available at any time if there are any matters in the court to handle them promptly.

Sometimes I think, it would be better to stay in the Ministry of Rites, where I could go out drinking and listening to music with my colleagues every night, living a carefree life.

The daily routines of Ming Dynasty officials were all set by Zhu Yuanzhang.

He started work at 5 a.m., which was the time when Lao Zhu had to attend the morning court session.

Even if the officials were extremely unwilling, they had no choice but to obediently attend on time.

Of course, later emperors were lazier and lazier, and the morning court sessions were only held sporadically. As a result, the various government offices now require employees to complete their roll call at 7:00 AM, which means that arriving at the government office before 7:00 AM is not considered late.

This practice has continued for a long time as long as the emperor does not hold morning court sessions.

Wei Guangde said that the cabinet's roll call time would be postponed to the middle of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), which is similar to the working hours of later generations, with 8 AM as the working time.

If it's the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), then work will be delayed until 9 AM.

Well, Wei Guangde is actually really looking forward to a nine-to-five life.

"In addition, could we also submit a memorial requesting, for example, to recuperate for three to five days every three months, so as to avoid being like the Grand Secretary, who can only rest when he falls ill?"

For other government offices outside the cabinet, requests for leave and rest only need to be reported to the official in charge and approved; there is no need to submit a memorial to the emperor.

Of course, these were all short-term leave slips. Long-term leave slips, such as those for returning to one's hometown, or those that would take a long time, still required an imperial petition for approval.

Wei Guangde started the conversation, Shen Shixing was uninterested, but Zhang Siwei was quite intrigued.

Well, Zhang Siwei was always a playful person back then.

After being promoted by Gao Gong and later by Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Siwei had not indulged in nature or had a proper rest for many years.

Now that Wei Guangde has proposed giving cabinet ministers more rest time, Zhang Siwei is naturally interested.

"If you can rest for a few days each season, it will be beneficial for restoring your energy."

Lord Wei, perhaps we should refine this and submit it to the emperor.

After all, we do this to better serve the court, not to indulge in pleasure.

Zhang Siwei spoke up.

Shen Shixing on the other side only slightly opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

"Ziwei also agrees?"

Wei Guangde looked at Zhang Siwei and asked with a smile.

"I'm not much younger than the Grand Secretary, and seeing him like this, I'm scared too," Zhang Siwei said with a wry smile.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng in his current state, everyone would be afraid.

Wei Guangde was also startled at first glance; he was almost unrecognizable.

Then, Wei Guangde looked at Shen Shixing and asked, "What do you think, Ru Mo?"

Shen Shixing actually wanted to voice his opposition, but judging from Wei Guangde's tone, it seemed that he and Zhang Siwei had reached an agreement on this matter.

Okay, even if he objected, the cabinet resolution was two to one, so the objection was invalid.

Since you can't object, why bother talking about anything else?

Thinking of this, Shen Shixing forced a smile and said, "Of course, there's no objection. Lord Wei can draft the memorial, and we can simply sign and affix our names."

"Alright, since no one objects, I will draft the memorial in the next two days. If there are no objections, we can all submit it together."

Wei Guangde laughed.

After saying this, Wei Guangde called out to the outside, "Lubu, what time is it?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, it's almost 5 PM."

Lu Bu entered and bowed in response.

"Okay, I understand. You can go now."

Wei Guangde told Lu Bu to leave, and then said, "Let's wait until 5 pm before we leave, so that no censor will impeach us for leaving early."

"hehe."

Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing both burst into hearty laughter.

The working hours for Ming Dynasty officials were from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., a total of twelve hours.

Of course, in reality, the emperor did not hold court in the morning, and if one arrived at the government office before dawn, it was not considered late.

As for the hour of You (酉时), it naturally refers to the period from 5 PM to 7 PM. You can leave work at any time during this period.

Of course, this is on the premise that the official business at hand is handled properly, especially when there are important matters, and there is absolutely no situation where it is put off until tomorrow.

In the following days, news of Zhang Juzheng's serious illness gradually spread from the cabinet.

Yes, at this time, not many people could enter the Zhang residence; apart from his closest friends, there were no others.

The three Grand Secretaries openly discussed Zhang Juzheng's illness in the cabinet, which was naturally overheard by the secretaries working in the cabinet and then spread.

The Grand Secretary's serious illness was not as serious as the Emperor's, so there was no need to keep it a secret.

As long as the cabinet continues to function, the court will not encounter problems.

The sky won't fall down if anyone is missing.

However, after the news spread, the number of officials sending visiting cards to the Wei residence increased significantly in recent days.

In fact, not only the Wei family, but also the Zhang Siwei family received quite a few.

It was obvious to everyone that with Zhang Juzheng retiring due to illness, Wei Guangde's rise to the position of Grand Secretary was a foregone conclusion, and Zhang Siwei would also rise to become the Second Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty.

This has nothing to do with age; it's determined by seniority and the order in which they entered the cabinet.

"My lord, Minister Zhang has sent an invitation, saying he would like to visit your residence tonight."

At the gate of the Wei residence, Wei Guangde alighted from his sedan chair and entered the gate. Zhang Ji had already approached him and whispered something to him.

Minister Zhang

Wei Guangde was taken aback for a moment, but then he understood who Zhang Ji was referring to.

Zhang Xueyan, the current Minister of Revenue, controls the purse strings of the Ming Dynasty.

Apart from him, there were no other ministers with the surname Zhang in the capital.

"Please ask him to come over tonight."

Wei Guangde gave a low-pitched instruction.

Zhang Xueyan's purpose in coming to me is self-evident: Zhang Juzheng is no longer capable, and I owe my current position entirely to Zhang Juzheng's efforts.

The relationship between Zhang Xueyan and Zhang Siwei is not close; in fact, there is a distance between them.

If he doesn't surrender to Wei Guangde, then once Wei Guangde becomes the Grand Secretary, the position of Minister of Revenue will definitely be replaced.

Well, even if he had pledged his allegiance, it would probably be difficult for Wei Guangde to accept him immediately, and he might have been transferred to another department to continue serving as Minister.

To be honest, Wei Guangde was in a difficult position to arrange things for Zhang Xueyan at this point, because he had already considered it.

Zhang Xueyan was a capable official who had served as the governor of Liaodong. The most suitable positions for him were the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War.

However, Wei Guangde of the Ministry of War preferred Zhang Ke to take over and replace Tan Lun as the seal-bearer, so Zhang Xueyan had no chance.

Especially given the critical period when the Ming Dynasty was about to wage war again, the Ministry of War certainly needed Zhang Ke to take over in order to ensure the issuance of the cabinet's orders to foreign countries.

As for who would manage the Ministry of Revenue, Wei Guangde intended to have Lao Kan take over the Ministry of Revenue and temporarily give up the position of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

With Chen Kai in the Censorate, it was essentially under the control of people from Jiangxi. Placing two more people there would be a waste of manpower.

Although Chen Ti rarely interacted with them due to his special position.

Wei Guangde certainly wanted to control the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel. His idea was good, but if he tried to do it this way, the palace would probably be the first to object.

If Wei Guangde were to truly control all six ministries, how much power would he wield?

Old Yan probably never had such a glorious past.

Therefore, Wei Guangde had to give up at least three positions in the Six Ministries.

At first, Wei Guangde did not expect things to change so quickly. Even though he had a premonition that Zhang Juzheng was no longer capable, the situation changed drastically in less than two months.

Now that Zhang Xueyan has taken the initiative to visit, seemingly intending to seek refuge, Wei Guangde's mind has suddenly become active.

By bringing him under control and allowing him to continue working in the Ministry of Revenue, you are implying that Wei Guangde has not interfered in the Ministry of Revenue.

As for Lao Kan, he was appointed as a vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel to prepare to take over Wang Guoguang's duties.

The Ministry of Personnel was no less important than any other government office, as it held the power to appoint officials.

Although the position of Minister is important, the power of the Vice Minister is by no means small.

The current Minister of Personnel, Wang Guoguang, is a staunch supporter of Zhang Juzheng, while Vice Ministers Yu Youding and Xu Guo also seem to have close ties with Zhang Juzheng.

Wei Guangde even suspected that one of the two men might be the cabinet minister that Zhang Juzheng would recommend before his death.

Because they all came from the Hanlin Academy, they were qualified to challenge the cabinet.

In particular, Yu Youding was a troublesome person for Wei Guangde.

Yu Youding, courtesy name Bingzhong, style name Tonglu, was a native of Qishan Village, Gaoqiao Town, Yin County, Zhejiang Province. He is said to be a descendant of Yu Tianxi, a famous minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, and was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination in the forty-first year of the Jiajing reign.

In that year's cohort, Shen Shixing was the top scorer and Wang Xijue was the second-best.

With this relationship in place, even if Wei Guangde wanted to target him, he would have to consider the impact on Shen Shixing.

As for Wang Xijue, Wei Guangde planned to summon him back to court after Zhang Juzheng died.

Wang Xijue was from Taicang, Suzhou. It is said that he had a good relationship with Xu Ge Lao, but for some reason he did not get along with Zhang Juzheng and went back to his hometown to recuperate.

At that time, Wei Guangde can also show goodwill to Wang Xijue by giving him benefits.

"Subdue Zhang Xueyan, then arrange for Wei Shiliang to be a vice minister in the Ministry of Revenue, Lao Kan to be the left vice minister in the Ministry of Personnel, and recall Wang Xijue to be a vice minister in the Ministry of Rites."

Wei Guangde, mentally calculating the people in his pocket and the official positions he absolutely needed to secure, walked into the backyard of the Wei residence. (End of Chapter)