prosperous age

In the cabinet, Wei Guangde was on duty.

"Lubu, what time is it?"

Wei Guangde spent the whole morning processing a pile of selected memorials, most of which contained some details about various matters. The useless memorials were left for the secretariat outside to review and draft.

Now that he had some free time, Wei Guangde felt hungry and asked the doorway.

Soon, Lu Bu appeared at the door of the duty room and respectfully said to the person inside, "Master, it's already noon."

"Then let them prepare the meal outside; the master is hungry."

Hearing that it's already noon, no wonder I feel hungry.

All I can say is that there were quite a few memorials brought in today, and it took us so long to process them.

"Yes, sir, I'll arrange it right away."

Lu Bu agreed and turned to walk out.

As Wei Guangde watched the person leave, he got up, stretched, and let out a comfortable groan.

Although the cabinet is missing Zhang Juzheng, he still has a lot of responsibilities. Nearly 30% of the memorials he handles are sent to the duty room for them to process every day.

Despite Wei Guangde temporarily assuming the position of Grand Secretary, even though he delegated some tasks to Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing, the number of memorials submitted to him was nearly double the usual amount.

Well, this is perhaps what they mean by "with great power comes great responsibility"—with great power comes many more troubles.

After walking around the duty room a few times to stretch his muscles, he placed his hands on the desk, tilted his body at a 45-degree angle, and did a few incline push-ups.

This is one of the few actions that can be taken within the cabinet.

However, the official robes were not very comfortable to wear due to their wide sleeves.

But there was nothing I could do; this was a government office, and I couldn't dress as casually as I would at home.

"dong dong dong"

Just as Wei Guangde was exercising, footsteps sounded outside.

"Hmm? You've prepared the meal so quickly today."

As Wei Guangde was thinking to himself, he turned around and glanced at the door. What he saw was Liu Shouyou, dressed in a flying fish robe, standing at the door and looking inside.

Naturally, when their eyes met, Liu Shouyou immediately took a half step back.

Wei Guangde stood up and said to the outside, "Siyun is here. Come in. Lubu went to make lunch. Have you eaten yet?"

Upon hearing Wei Guangde's call, Liu Shouyou stepped inside, bowed to Wei Guangde, and replied, "Grand Secretary Wei, I have urgent business to report and have not yet had lunch."

"Let's eat together then. Anyway, there are several dishes at each meal, and I can't finish them all."

Wei Guangde smiled and led him to the reception area directly opposite the duty room door, where there were armchairs and tea tables.

"I'll make you some tea when Lubu comes back. Tell me, what's so important that you rushed over here in the middle of the day?"

Wei Guangde sat down and spoke to Liu Shouyou.

Liu Shouyou, who had just sat down, hurriedly got up, took out a book from his sleeve, handed it to him with both hands, and said, "Grand Secretary Wei, this is the latest intelligence from the grasslands. Just as you said, Lady Zhongshun and Prince Shunyi are fighting over the inheritance of the Dacheng Taiji in Bansheng City."

"what?"

Wei Guangde was startled, then reached out and snatched the intelligence report, immediately unfolding it to read it.

Mu Tianyu couldn't be certain that Qia Taiji was sent to Bansheng City by Huang Taiji, so the intelligence report still followed the message record: "Qia Taiji, under the command of the Shunyi King, led his troops to Bansheng and fought a great battle with Lady Zhongshun's guards outside the city."

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's spies only knew that the two armies were fighting, but they did not know much about the details.

After all, even though they were just fighting there, they hadn't lost a single scout they had sent out.

Getting too close could easily make you look like a local spy.

Shouts of battle erupted from all sides, making it difficult to escape if discovered by either side at this point.

"The Ministry of War's order should have reached Xuanfu by now."

After reviewing the situation, Wei Guangde asked calmly.

"It should have arrived last night; it was sent by the Ministry of War via urgent 600-li express."

Liu Shouyou was also very knowledgeable about the affairs of the Six Ministries, and immediately replied.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had spies stationed in all six ministries. They didn't care about anything else, but they still knew the general content of any documents issued to the outside world.

It's not that you can't copy out the details, or even the original text, but it's easy to be attacked by civil officials.

Therefore, the scouts simply observed how many documents they issued and what the general situation was.

The details were not something they should be asking about.

Wei Guangde thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave it at that for now. Have you sent it to the palace yet?"

"It's already been delivered; I just came over."

Liu Shouyou knew that the inner court would know when he entered the palace, so he first sent the intelligence to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs before coming to the cabinet.

Thanks to Wei Guangde's reminder, one must know one's place when serving as a royal henchman.

"Later, a memorial should arrive from Xuanfu. Let's wait and see what Xuanfu has to say."

Wei Guangde knew what was going on. Zheng Luo understood the court's intentions, and with the intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he would definitely know what to do.

It's hard to say, the advance team has already set off.

This is already an urgent military matter, so it will definitely be sent to the capital for reporting as soon as possible. Therefore, we don't need to worry about it now; let's see the feedback from the local authorities.

This is also an opportunity for Wei Guangde to judge whether local officials are competent or not. If they are not handled well, they will be replaced after the matter is over.

If he does well, he can naturally continue working there, and when the opportunity is right, he can be promoted step by step.

This was a similarly interesting method used by him and Zhang Juzheng, and it was also a process for selecting talent.

For Zheng Luo, if he performs well in his post as governor, it naturally means he can be promoted to take charge of central departments.

If handled improperly, then they can expect to enjoy a life of luxury in Nanjing.

Meanwhile, in the Qianqing Palace, the Wanli Emperor had finished his morning studies, which were simply arranged by the scholars to read books.

Right now, they are waiting for the imperial meal to be delivered.

He casually flipped through the memorials on his desk.

The first book, naturally, was the one Wei Guangde handed over last night.

The memorial submitted by the Second Grand Secretary was naturally of the highest importance.

Only Zhang Juzheng's memorial could surpass his.

After reading the memorial, the Wanli Emperor's nonchalant expression vanished, replaced by a solemn look.

Yesterday, Feng Bao reported the news of Hannaji's death in a horse-riding accident separately, but he didn't really take it seriously at the time.

Of course, Hannah Jigme knew that he was the one who indirectly facilitated the Longqing Peace Treaty. If he hadn't gone to Xuanfu to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty wouldn't have had the opportunity to negotiate peace with Anda Khan.

Afterwards, thanks to the court's support, Bahannaji also thrived on the grasslands.

Of course, he was the grandson raised by Anda Khan, who treated him very well and even gave him his entire territory.

The imperial court attaches great importance to this person because he already has a powerful force on the grasslands, and they have been trying to win him over.

Unfortunately, he died in a horse-riding accident.

Thinking of horseback riding, Emperor Wanli couldn't help but recall his childhood, when he had fallen off a horse and felt the pain.

However, he still had some reservations about what Master Wei wrote in his memorial.

The grasslands have long had their own rules, just like the saying that civil officials often say, "There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in a country." But in reality, it seems that there aren't that many rules.

After the Jin Dynasty, many emperors did not appear at the same time, and the heavens did not collapse; they continued to operate.

Regarding the matter of Bahannaji, he is dead. There are precedents on the grasslands. Things will proceed as they should. How could it be possible for Mongolia to fall into internal strife as Wei Guangde described?

Besides, isn't it a good thing that Mongolia is embroiled in internal strife? They're already fighting over tribes, and they still dare to be enemies with the Ming Dynasty. They should be vying to win them over.

It seems that this shouldn't be a bad thing for the Ming Dynasty.

As the Wanli Emperor was thinking this, Zhang Jing suddenly rushed in and bowed before him, saying, "Your Majesty, an urgent report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Just leave it here. Why hasn't lunch been delivered yet?"

The Wanli Emperor waved his hand dismissively, put down the memorial in his hand, and began to inquire about lunch.

"It should be on its way, it'll be here soon."

Zhang Jing said with a fawning smile.

He was only recently appointed by Emperor Wanli to serve here. Seeing the emperor every day greatly increases his chances of promotion. Who knows, he might become a grand eunuch in a few years.

According to palace rules, those who served the emperor were often promoted and became eunuchs in charge of the inner court departments.

If one's abilities are recognized by the emperor, becoming a grand eunuch is only a matter of time.

With a fawning smile, he placed the urgent report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard on the table before retreating to urge the servants to prepare lunch.

Before the food arrived, Emperor Wanli reached out and casually picked up the next memorial, which was naturally the one that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had just delivered.

He didn't think much of it and casually flipped through it, but the next moment his pupils contracted.

"They've started fighting! They've really started fighting."

Muttering to himself, Emperor Wanli looked up in surprise, glanced around, then looked down again and read through the secret report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Well, the idea that internal strife in Mongolia was the best Mongolia vanished instantly.

Master Wei guessed that there would be internal strife in Mongolia as soon as he heard the news yesterday, and made timely arrangements. The changes in Mongolia that follow will most likely be as he described in his memorial.

If the conflict cannot be quelled in time, the Nine Borders might once again clash with the Mongols.

My earlier thought that the Mongols would befriend the Ming Dynasty as an ally in order to seize power is probably unrealistic.

Emperor Wanli picked up the memorial submitted by Wei Guangde, which had been set aside, and read it through again.

Once Lady Zhongshun and Prince Shunyi clash, the Mongol tribes will become uncontrollable, meaning they will no longer obey the Great Khan. Some warlike leaders may even seize the opportunity to plunder the wealth of the Ming Dynasty.
"Zhang Jing, Zhang Jing."

Emperor Wanli, still holding the memorial in his hand, shouted to the outside.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, they're here!"

Zhang Jing entered and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the imperial meal has been delivered. Please set it out immediately and invite Your Majesty to eat."

"arrive?"

The Wanli Emperor wasn't urging him to eat; he wanted him to invite Wei Guangde over.

However, since they've already started eating here, the cabinet must be having their meal as well.

"Very well, set it out, I'm going to have a meal."

Also, wait half an hour, then go to the cabinet and invite Master Wei over. I have important matters to discuss with him.

Eating is the most important thing in the world, and Emperor Wanli wouldn't bother to summon Wei Guangde at this time, nor was he in a hurry.

Wei Guangde invited Liu Shouyou to have lunch with him before letting him leave.

To be honest, the food at the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was really bad. Even if he was the second-in-command of the cabinet, if he let those people prepare the meals, all he could get was a full meal.

The officials' lunches were actually provided by the imperial court with funds, but none of them would eat the food prepared by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; they all brought their own or ate at home.

In this way, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices would also give them some silver.

Wei Guangde didn't care about the small amount of money, but he was still very annoyed. Like them, he prepared the money himself and went directly to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to report the amount of silver.

As for why there's no need to rectify the situation, there's no need.

Since not many people would eat the food from the Imperial Academy anyway, everyone would probably be more satisfied if they paid in silver.

If things are rectified and people can no longer eat out, the officials outside the capital will probably be even more dissatisfied.

He had only rested for a short while when an eunuch came to invite him, and Wei Guangde followed him into the Qianqing Palace.

Upon meeting the Wanli Emperor, the first thing he asked about was the Mongol affair, saying that since they were already at war, it wasn't worth taking seriously.

"Your Majesty, the grasslands are different from our Central Plains. They have a tradition that has maintained order for thousands of years. The tradition on the grasslands is that the strong prey on the weak and the powerful bully the weak."

Whoever has the greatest power can control their destiny.

What Da Cheng Taiji left behind was not only Ban Sheng City, but also a tribe of tens of thousands of people.

Whoever acquires them will see their strength greatly increased.

As for His Majesty's surprise, it's because His Majesty may have been paying more attention to the memorials from the court earlier, and neglected the secret reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Above it is intelligence on the major powers on the grasslands.”

Wei Guangde answered Emperor Wanli's questions, and the emperor nodded repeatedly.

In their minds, the importance of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been rapidly elevated to a higher level, and it was no longer something to be underestimated.

Wei Guangde has just explained in detail the role of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and its use for internal and external intelligence.

"Now it seems that the Prince of Shunyi wants to win over the remaining followers of Bahanaji?"

The Wanli Emperor asked.

Although it wasn't mentioned in the intelligence report, Wei Guangde actually thought the same as Mu Tianyu and the others, believing that Qiataiji was sent by Huang Taiji.

He nodded and said, "The King of Shunyi probably wanted to marry Dacheng Biji to his son, which means he would gain the power of Dacheng Taiji."

In this way, he surpassed Lady Chungshun in Guihua City.

Lady Chungshun's side must have sent guards to Bansheng City for this reason as well.

"If Huang Taiji can arrange marriages, can I also arrange marriages? He is just the Prince of Shunyi, while I am the Emperor."

The Wanli Emperor suddenly asked a question.

"As things stand, Lady Zhongshun certainly doesn't want the power of Dacheng Taiji to fall into the hands of Shunyi Wang. However, whether she intends to marry Dacheng Biji to him is something we'll have to wait for intelligence to confirm."

If she is willing, His Majesty can certainly arrange a marriage.

The Wanli Emperor had a sudden inspiration, which gave Wei Guangde a hint: it was indeed possible to suppress Huang Taiji, the Khan.

This was also a landmark event signifying the Mongols' submission to the Ming Dynasty, representing their true allegiance to the Ming.

Although this may cause a rebound, it is still worth trying.

"Alright, I understand."

Master Wei, just let me know if you need anything.

"Please take care of things regarding the grasslands, Master Wei. I will fully cooperate."

Emperor Wanli said.

This incident made him realize that he was still lacking in experience and had missed many details.

“Huang Taiji is really good to his son.”

Finally, perhaps thinking of the late emperor, Zhu Yijun couldn't help but say with a touch of bitterness.

"Father and son are one, bound by blood. As for the Prince of Shunyi, how much time does he have left? He should treat his sons well."

The late Emperor also showed Your Majesty the deepest love for his child; Your Majesty will surely treat your own child in the same way.

Wei Guangde suddenly spoke with a deeper meaning, emphasizing his words.

"Ok?"

Emperor Wanli instantly understood the meaning behind Wei Guangde's words. (End of Chapter)