prosperous age

"Brother Uncle, Shan Dai is very happy to see that you have recovered."

"There's no time like the present! How about we have a good drink at Shenxianlou tonight?"

In the office of Wei Guangde, the Grand Secretary, Wei Guangde welcomed Zhang Juzheng in and made him sit down, and then said warmly.

"Let's skip the banquet. Although I've recovered somewhat, this serious illness has taken a toll on my health. The imperial physician has also said that I must abstain from alcohol and meat for the time being."

Zhang Juzheng said with a wry smile, "From now on, the affairs of the court will still have to be handled with care. I need to go back to my residence to recuperate."

"Uncle, rest assured, now that you are in good health, you should be able to handle some affairs, at least you can help advise on important matters."

Just then, news arrived from the Ministry of War that Governor-General Zheng of Xuanfu and Datong has reported that the unrest on the grasslands has been quelled.

Wei Guangde then gave a brief account of the main contents of the memorial sent by Liang Menglong, and Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly after listening.

"This matter was handled very well. If I were in the cabinet, I would have handled it the same way, perhaps."

At this point, Zhang Juzheng hesitated slightly before saying, "Perhaps in order to maintain relations with the Prince of Shunyi, he will persuade Third Sister to let the matter rest."

Zhang Juzheng was telling the truth; there was not a trace of falsehood in his words.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng had also learned about this matter in the past two days and was somewhat dissatisfied with the way Wei Guangde was dealt with.

I came here specifically for this matter.

In his view, as long as relations with the Mongols were maintained, after a while, once the Mongols' strength was weakened, they would be easily crushed and trampled by the Ming Dynasty.

Given the current situation, it is rather inappropriate to so strongly support Third Sister.

But since the Ministry of War said that Wei Guangde's strategy was effective and that the Prince of Shunyi had surrendered first, Zhang Juzheng had to adjust his previous thinking, which was that he might have overestimated the strength of the Mongols.

The Prince of Shunyi and his steppe cavalry might not be as powerful as people imagine.

"Go to my duty room first and tidy up the things in the manor."

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng instructed his sons who had followed him in to fetch the items.

"Yes, father."

All four agreed, bowed to Wei Guangde, and then left the duty room.

"Uncle, why are you packing your things?"
Now that he is in good health, I believe he will soon recover and return to his cabinet duties.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde and after a moment said with a wry smile, "To be honest, Shan Dai, I have followed your advice. Today I am going to the palace to express my gratitude and to submit my resignation memorial."

Zhang Juzheng didn't believe that Wei Guangde was truly unaware of his purpose in entering the palace, but some things really do require pretending to be ignorant.

Since that's the case, fine, I'll just say it myself.

"Why? It was because my uncle was seriously ill that I made this suggestion."

Things are already much better now, there's no need for that.

Wei Guangde hurriedly said.

"This serious illness almost cost me my life."

The imperial physician also said that if I don't receive proper treatment, my life may be over.

They say fallen leaves return to their roots, and I still want to return to my hometown, to see with my own eyes the land that gave me birth and nurtured me, and then build a hut in front of my father's grave to fulfill the filial duties I owe him.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng did not tell Wei Guangde the whole truth. That was, his illness in February was not without warning, but rather he had already felt unwell.

Fortunately, there weren't many major events in the court these past two years, so he was able to find an imperial physician to treat him.

However, after taking his pulse, he said that his illness might be quite dangerous.

He then took intermittent leave to rest at home, partly because the imperial physicians were testing medicines on him and searching for a treatment plan.

Another reason for this was that after learning about his physical condition, Chief Minister Zhang's spirits were dampened.

In the original timeline, Chief Minister Zhang only "caught a slight cold" in February and rested for two days before returning to the cabinet to continue his duties.

This continued until June, thanks to the perfect handling of the Mongolian civil war, specifically the court's persuasion of the Third Lady to cease hostilities.

Of course, in the end, Da Cheng Bi Ji married Che Li Ke instead of being impolite.

Because of his handling of this dispute with the foreign vassal states, the Empress Dowager still bestowed upon Zhang Juzheng the title of Grand Tutor.
Then, two days later, he suddenly fell ill and died seven days later.

Even in later generations, it was said that if a healthy person falls ill, it is often a serious illness, one that will leave them severely injured, if not dead.

This phenomenon actually existed in ancient times; it was all discovered through the continuous summarization of our ancestors.

People who are sickly and have constant minor health problems often live a long life because they know how to keep their health in good condition and take good care of themselves.

On the contrary, those who seem to be in good health are like a landslide once they fall ill, and even the best doctors can hardly save them.

However, these people often have warning signs before they develop the disease, but these signs are often ignored.

This time, Zhang Juzheng only paid a little attention, and thus survived.

Because there was nothing to do in the court, and with Wei Guangde, who shared similar ideas with him, keeping an eye on things, he was able to put aside the affairs of the cabinet and focus on recuperating at home.

"The palace has accepted my resignation memorial."

"Wait three to five days, and I will submit a second memorial, until it receives imperial approval."

Zhang Juzheng continued speaking in a low voice.

When he said this, he was actually telling Wei Guangde that he was no longer in this position, so that he could rest assured.

Although Zhang Juzheng didn't really value this position, as the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," Wei Guangde always thought it was better for him to have someone as headstrong as Zhang Juzheng taking the lead.

However, once Zhang Juzheng's fate was decided, he absolutely could not back down.

Like rowing against the current, if you don't advance, you'll fall behind. Having reached this point, Wei Guangde knew there was absolutely no reason to back down, otherwise he feared he would collapse immediately.

"Brother Uncle, there's no need for that."

Wei Guangde wanted to say a few more words of "persuasion," but Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "Shan Dai, at this point, you and I both understand."

Besides, you understand it better than I do. I only figured it out after receiving the Grand Tutor's reward.

I have no choice but to leave, alas.

With a sigh, Zhang Juzheng continued, "This time I will take my four sons with me to leave the capital and return to Jiangling. I will definitely not return to the capital, but my children are still young."

If the political situation stabilizes in three to five years, I hope you will reinstate them.

In the past few years, I've also needed Shandai's help with my affairs on my side.

"Has Uncle already prepared a backup plan?"

Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

"After I resign, I will petition the former Minister of Rites, Pan Sheng, to take over the cabinet position."

Zhang Juzheng didn't hide anything and spoke up.

When important officials in the Ming Dynasty retired, the emperor would usually give them face and reinstate the person they had recommended.

Some of these involve grooming younger generations, such as securing them an official position or recommending others to succeed them.

The reasons are numerous and difficult to explain, but in essence, it was a favor bestowed by the emperor to show his respect. Since Zhang Juzheng was taking his family members with him, he naturally wouldn't recommend any official positions for his descendants; instead, he could only recommend candidates for cabinet ministers.

"He is indeed mature and prudent, but he may not be able to fulfill your wishes, Uncle. You underestimate Ziwei."

Wei Guangde just smiled and said something.

Over the years, he has been playing power games within the cabinet, including many times engaging in wits and battles with Zhang Juzheng, vying for positions for Jiangxi officials. Wei Guangde has seen this very clearly.

Zhang Juzheng may have thought that because he had promoted Zhang Siwei, Zhang Siwei wouldn't do anything to him after he left, but he overlooked Zhang Siwei's wariness of those recommended by Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng was able to maintain his position as Grand Secretary not only because of his abilities, but also because of the Empress Dowager's trust in the palace and his good ally.

This good ally was naturally Feng Bao.

He was the link between the imperial court and the harem; how could Zhang Siwei not be envious?

However, Feng Bao had a grudge against Gao Gong, while Zhang Siwei was initially favored by Gao Gong.

Most people remember the idiom "love me, love my dog," but there's another idiom: "misfortune befalls the innocent."

Feng Bao was overjoyed that Gao Gong was dead, but as a eunuch, he would never let go of his prejudices.

Zhang Siwei, an official once praised by Gao Gong, was disliked by Feng Bao.

Over the years, Zhang Siwei had tried to curry favor with Feng Bao, but with very little success.

Feng Bao still preferred to cooperate with Zhang Juzheng, and even joined forces with Wei Guangde, but he never gave him a second glance.

Feng Bao disliked anything that was connected to Gao Gong.

In fact, the ancient punishment of "collective punishment" made a lot of sense.

Ordinary people may think that the punishment of collective punishment involves innocent people, but in fact, many people who have been punished throughout history have more or less implicated their families, such as the political vetting in later generations.

These people must be dissatisfied with the imperial court or their political enemies.

There's no such thing as being a thief for a thousand days without being able to guard against them for a thousand days. Feng Bao understood this very well. So, the way to prevent trouble before it happens is to keep all those who have ties with Gao Gong under control and prevent them from showing their faces, so that he can ensure that he will not suffer the same "retribution" as before.

If it weren't for Zhang Juzheng's high regard for Zhang Siwei and his repeated defense of him in front of Feng Bao, Zhang Siwei would probably have been sent to some remote and impoverished place to serve as an official long ago.

Even dismissal from office is a possibility.

Wei Guangde naturally felt that Zhang Juzheng might not have truly controlled Zhang Siwei, after all, Wei Guangde still vividly remembered what happened at the Censorate.

"You and Shuanglin both overestimate him."

Zhang Juzheng laughed, but after laughing, his face showed signs of exhaustion.

After that, the two stopped talking about anything else and just talked about Yu Zhi's past, treating it as a casual conversation.

Everything that needed to be said has been said; nothing else can change anything.

After Zhang Jingxiu and others from the Zhang family returned, Zhang Juzheng also got up to take his leave.

Taking the items was a pretense; talking to Wei Guangde and the other people on duty were also real, though Zhang Jingxiu did it on his behalf.

After all, he had done so many things for me over the years, so it was only natural to part ways amicably at this point.

Those who want money will be given money; those who want to rise above others will also try their best to satisfy their desires.

Before Zhang Juzheng stepped down, these people and matters could still be arranged. For example, they could be transferred to one of the Six Ministries as a clerk. As long as they left the cabinet, no one would target them anymore.

Ultimately, everyone has their own role, and there's no point in them staying here.

Wei Guangde simply saw Zhang Juzheng out of his duty room. Zhang Juzheng then spent some time idly with Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing before taking his leave and leaving the cabinet and the palace.

He would never set foot in the palace again.

"Gone? Good thing they left."

When Lu Bu came to report that Zhang Juzheng had already come out of the palace gate, Wei Guangde only sighed.

Wei Guangde felt he had done enough for the Zhang family to ensure that those who had rendered meritorious service could die peacefully.

If things were to turn out like in the previous life, with Zhang Juzheng's mansion being raided two years after his death and his eldest son being forced to commit suicide, it would seem too heartless and ungrateful.

Meanwhile, on the grassland, San Niangzi had already led her troops into Bansheng City, and Dacheng Biji had accepted the betrothal gifts delivered by San Niangzi on behalf of her son, thus settling the matter.

Huang Taiji took Chelik directly back to Guihua City. Although he was dissatisfied, he arranged for people to win over the remnants of Bahannaji's tribe, but the effect was not very good.

After all, this was something that Third Sister had already arranged for her subordinates to do.

Back then, Third Sister made arrangements based on the worst-case scenario. She had already secretly contacted those who needed to be won over. It would be strange if Chelik's people went there again.

Therefore, despite making various promises, Chelik's efforts have yielded little result.

In fact, what he thought was a promise was not as good as the olive branch that Third Sister had sent someone to deliver before.

After all, Chelik was just a prince, and the reward he could offer was far less than that of the Third Lady, the leader who held the power of tribute.

Huang Taiji returned to Guihua City, and Zheng Luo also led his troops south, accompanied by Ali Ge and his more than a thousand followers.

This was given to him by his former tribe, Hannaji. This time, he was heading to Anshi Fort to first settle there and renovate the city.

The Wangting and Dacheng Taiji tribes were probably the first Mongol tribes to break away from nomadic life and adopt the Han Chinese lifestyle of relying on cities for survival.

Of course, although it won't be as hard as before, living in a city still requires a great deal of resources.

Without trade with the Ming Dynasty, this way of life would be a disaster.

After all, fixed pastures mean that the number of cattle, sheep and horses that can be raised may be limited due to a lack of sufficient pasture.

Nomadic lifestyles are not a problem; livestock can be bred in large numbers, as long as they move along the lush grasslands with abundant water and grass.

"From now on, in addition to grazing livestock nearby, you can raise more warhorses, and the Ministry of War will provide enough horse allowance."

In addition, you can collect more wool from other tribes; the grassland merchants' association in Zhangjiakou will also buy the wool you supply.”

On the way back, Zheng Luo talked with Ali Ge and naturally gave him advice.

To be honest, Zheng Luo was worried about the San Niangzi branch in Mongolia.

In this situation, it is very important to cultivate another tribe that is loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Once Haige enters Anshibao, developing it into a second Banshengcheng would be a good option.

Moreover, Bansheng City is 300 li away from the Xuanfu border wall, while Anshi Fort is only 200 li away, making it closer and thus having a closer connection with the Ming Dynasty.

"We will definitely collect all kinds of goods needed by the imperial court."

Ali readily agreed. Being close to the Ming Dynasty's border wall meant he could receive various forms of support when needed, which was naturally the best thing ever.

In fact, herders also need wool to keep warm, but woolen fabrics made through weaving seem to have better insulation properties.

Nowadays, many tribes would bring large quantities of wool to the Zhangjiakou horse market to trade for woolen cloth.

However, there are quotas for horse racing, and the power lies with Third Sister.

Acting as a middleman would seem to be beneficial for Haige'er, as it would allow him to strengthen ties with other tribes.

If the Ming Dynasty needs warhorses, Anshi Fort can raise more warhorses and trade them with the Ming Dynasty in exchange for various supplies, especially woolen fabrics. (End of Chapter)