prosperous age

"Imperial Edict: Wei Guangde, Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall, is promoted to Grand Secretary of the Zhongji Hall; Zhang Siwei, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, is promoted to Grand Secretary of the Jianji Hall; and Shen Shixing, Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, is promoted to Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall. So be it."

In the inner courtyard of the Grand Secretariat, the eunuch of the Qianqing Palace conveyed the latest orders from His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in a shrill voice.

Wei Guangde became the highest-ranking cabinet minister and the most prestigious Grand Secretary of the Hall of Supreme Harmony among the four halls and two pavilions, effectively becoming the chief minister.

"Your subject, Wei Guangde, receives the imperial decree."

"Your subject Zhang Siwei receives the imperial decree."

"Your subject, Shen Shixing, receives the imperial decree."

The three cabinet members answered slightly haphazardly when calling out their names, but they answered almost simultaneously, which was still quite orderly.

It is quite rare for all cabinet members to be promoted at the same time, which shows that Emperor Wanli was eager to stabilize the cabinet situation and the best way was to first improve their status.

After receiving the imperial edict, the eunuch who delivered it did not leave. Instead, he said to Grand Secretary Wei Guangde, "Grand Secretary Wei, His Majesty has given an oral decree that the Grand Secretariat should immediately draft an edict to summon Pan Sheng, the former Minister of Rites, back to court and promote him to Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall in his original position to serve in the Grand Secretariat."

Pan Sheng was a senior official, much more experienced than Shen Shixing. So, although it was his first time in the cabinet, Emperor Wanli, perhaps considering that it was because of his teacher's recommendation, directly granted him the same title as Shen Shixing, granting him the title of Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, instead of the Grand Secretary of the Dongge or Wenyuange that ordinary people had to go through to enter the cabinet.

Well, that's a one-step solution.

"The minister accepts the order."

Wei Guangde bowed slightly and agreed.

It was now July, and after nearly a month of back and forth, the Qianqing Palace finally approved Zhang Juzheng's memorial requesting retirement.

The memorial had already been sent to the Directorate of Ceremonial for approval, and the Wanli Emperor's decree to promote the cabinet ministers arrived first. At the same time, it was announced that, respecting Zhang Juzheng's recommendation, Pan Sheng was recalled to the cabinet.

After the eunuch delivering the imperial edict was escorted out of the cabinet, Wei Guangde, Zhang Siwei, and Shen Shixing arrived at Wei Guangde's duty room first.

This place has now become the office of the current Grand Secretary.

In fact, half an hour earlier, all three of them had learned through their own channels that Zhang Juzheng had been granted permission to retire.

"Ziwei, you draft the decree to summon Grand Secretary Pan. Let's finish it together and send it out as soon as possible."

Wei Guangde gave the order.

"Okay, I'll do it then."

Zhang Siwei nodded slightly, picked up paper and pen from behind the desk, and after a moment's thought, drafted an imperial edict.

Wei Guangde simply stared into Zhang Siwei's eyes, but whether intentionally or not, he couldn't discern anything from them.

However, it was precisely because of this that Wei Guangde became even more certain of his thoughts.

In the eyes of most court officials, Zhang Siwei was Zhang Juzheng's successor, just as Zhang Juzheng was regarded as Xu Jie's successor. He was the leader of this faction.

Logically, when Zhang Juzheng requested the cabinet to fill vacancies before leaving, he should have been providing assistance to Zhang Siwei.

Logically, Zhang Siwei should have been secretly delighted.

Unfortunately, Wei Guangde did not witness Zhang Siwei's performance.

The draft edict was completed quickly, and Wei Guangde and Shen Shixing were very satisfied after reading it.

Therefore, without changing a single word, the original manuscript was sent directly to the Directorate of Ceremonial for approval and publication.

In the afternoon, an imperial edict personally approved by the Wanli Emperor, granting Zhang Juzheng permission to retire and return to his hometown, and facilitating his journey through various post stations, was delivered to the Grand Secretariat.

This was just a formality. The imperial decree had to be issued by the Cabinet, copied and stamped by the Directorate of Ceremonial, and finally approved by the Six Ministries before it was valid.

Unless there are major oversights, the emperor's decree would not be modified or rejected, so it was delivered to the Zhang residence the following morning.

Meanwhile, everyone in the Zhang family mansion was already prepared.

From the moment Zhang Juzheng first entered the palace to express his gratitude and request to retire, he had already made them prepare.

His voluntary withdrawal also saved the lives of all the servants in the mansion.

These people have often used the power and influence of the Grand Secretary's residence to act arrogantly and domineeringly throughout the Ming Dynasty.

The files collected by Shuntian Prefecture and other prefectures and counties were so numerous that they could be stacked up to a great height.

At this time, with Zhang Juzheng's departure, these files were effectively sealed away and never saw the light of day again.

Three days later, with the consent of the Qianqing Palace, the three cabinet ministers were given leave to go to the Shili Changting Pavilion outside Chaoyang Gate in Beijing to bid farewell to Zhang Juzheng.

Although Zhang Juzheng's residence was in the outer city, according to regulations, he was required to express his gratitude to the imperial palace outside the palace gates before leaving.

So, after leaving the mansion, they first went into the inner city to the palace, and then went out of the city through Chaoyang Gate to Zhangjiawan Wharf in Tongzhou to board a ship and head south.

At the pavilion, three members of the cabinet, along with the ministers of the six ministries and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and other important officials of the court, all took leave this morning to see him off.

During Zhang Juzheng's ten years in power, his achievements were remarkable, and the entire Ming Dynasty court benefited greatly from his policies.

Of course, the officials' families may suffer considerable losses, but their actions were worthy of the court.

This point is also acknowledged by officials in the capital.

After all, the visible improvement in the Ministry of Revenue's finances speaks for itself.

In previous years, the Ministry of Revenue had to borrow silver from all over the country to pay the salaries and rewards of officials in the capital at the end of the year. However, this has not been the case in the last two years. The Taicang Granary has a million taels of silver stored all year round. Although it has not yet reached the two million taels of silver stored in the old treasury, if the current situation continues, it will not be long before the Taicang Granary has a silver storage treasury.

Before long, a convoy of more than ten large vehicles came from the direction of the city gate in the distance.

This was certainly not all of Zhang Juzheng's assets. In fact, most of his wealth had either been sold off or sent to Tongzhou long ago, just waiting for people to arrive so that he could set sail south.

A large group of people walked out of the pavilion and stood by the roadside. When the convoy arrived, it naturally stopped.

On the second carriage in the convoy, the curtain was lifted, and Zhang Jingxiu was the first to appear. Servants brought over a stool, and Zhang Jingxiu stood beside the carriage, helping Zhang Juzheng slowly down.

"Uncle, brother."

"Grand Secretary Zhang."

Soon, officials crowded around him and began to chat and reminisce with him.

After making a ruckus for about half an hour, someone finally brought out the drinks, and everyone picked up their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.

"Shandai, Ziwei, Rumo, I entrust the important affairs of the court to you."

Finally, it was time to leave. Whether it was because he knew that they would never see each other again or because he was filled with a thousand kinds of reluctance, Zhang Juzheng said to Wei Guangde and the others with tears in his eyes.

Afterwards, Zhang Juzheng bowed deeply to the officials who came to see him off. After standing up, he quickly swept his long sleeves across his face, glanced back at the city wall that was no longer visible, resolutely stepped onto the horse stool, and returned to the carriage.

The servants put away the treadmills, and the convoy slowly started moving.

"Take care, Uncle Wei. I'll be leaving now."

Zhang Jingxiu also bowed deeply to Wei Guangde and said something.

"Take good care of your father. You've had a long and tiring journey, so please make sure to manage your time well."

Wei Guangde gave instructions.

"Uncle Wei, rest assured, I understand."

Zhang Jingxiu jumped directly onto the carriage and bowed to the others.

The crowd watched the convoy disappear into the distance until it was completely out of sight. Then, they took their leave in twos and threes and boarded their own sedan chairs to return to the city.

Most of the officials had already left in their sedan chairs. Wei Guangde was one of the last to leave. Just as he turned to leave, he saw Shen Shixing behind him and Yu Youding beside him.

"Ru Mo, Bing Zhong, let's go, they've already gone far away."

Wei Guangde said to the two of them with a smile.

"Okay, let's go together."

Shen Shixing smiled and replied, "You were both in the same year for the imperial examination, right? Bingzhong, you should have been the third-ranked scholar that year."

Wei Guangde said with a smile as he walked.

"Yes, it's been more than ten years, but sometimes when I think about it, it feels like it was just yesterday."

Yu Youding smiled and echoed.

Wei Guangde knew that Shen Shixing and Yu Youding had been in frequent contact in private, after all, one was the top scholar and the other was the third-ranked scholar.

As for the runner-up, it seems to be Wang Xijue.

However, in the sixth year of the Wanli reign, due to the "dispute over the right to leave office," Wang Xijue resigned from his official post and returned to his hometown to visit his family.

To be honest, the people who asked Zhang Juzheng to return to his hometown to observe mourning were not necessarily his enemies. For example, Wang Xijue was actually doing it for his own good.

Wang Xijue was from Taicang, Suzhou Prefecture, and was a neighbor of Xu Jie; the two had a good relationship.

According to Wei Guangde, after returning to his hometown, Wang Xijue went to Huating to see Xu Jie, perhaps hoping to persuade Xu Jie to write a letter to Zhang Juzheng, asking him to return home to observe the mourning period.

Wei Guangde couldn't remember whether Xu Jie had written to Zhang Juzheng, but in any case, Zhang Juzheng hadn't returned.

My hasty return to my hometown was only to bury my father, which delayed me for almost half a year.

However, it is clear that Zhang Juzheng was indeed morally deficient in this incident.

The three chatted casually as they walked toward the sedan chair. Wei Guangde suddenly remembered something and said to Yu Youding, "The Ministry of Rites should make preparations for next year's grand competition."

This year, the imperial examination has caused a lot of delays, and the court may have some major moves at the end of the year. I hope that the imperial examination will not be postponed again.

By the way, how's the communication with the Ministry of War going?

"Grand Secretary Wei, after you gave the instructions, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War discussed it many times, and they have already made arrangements for the routes of the candidates in each province."

Students from the southern coastal areas would travel north by boat, reaching the shore directly by sea.

After Wei Guangde handed over the matter to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel for handling, he didn't follow up on it.

Anyway, the provincial examinations are still being held in various places to prepare for the provincial examinations, so there's still plenty of time.

However, what Wei Guangde was most worried about was the reaction of the candidates to the large army that would set sail from Songjiang Prefecture and Shandong to attack Japan at the end of the year.

Southern test takers are probably the most accepting of the idea of ​​retaliating against Japan, since they personally experienced the Japanese invasion.

It's difficult to predict how the candidates from the northern and inland provinces will react.

Standing beside the sedan chair, Wei Guangde listened to Yu Youding's arrangements for the imperial examination and was fairly satisfied.

At least, Yu Youding always said he was doing things according to Grand Secretary Wei's instructions, and his attitude was impeccable.

"The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talents, a major national event. If done well, it will benefit the country, and the court will not be stingy with rewards."

Wei Guangde glanced at Yu Youding and said with a smile.

I sensed it. Shen Shixing brought Yu Youding here to wait, wanting him to communicate with him directly. His purpose was self-evident.

Wei Guangde was happy to accept this. Yu Youding was, after all, the emperor’s chosen successor, and was very capable. As long as he didn’t make any major mistakes this time, he would definitely be rewarded after the palace examination.

As for joining the cabinet, it's definitely not possible in the short term.

Since the cabinet was restored to four members after Pan Sheng's arrival, there was no need to add more people.

Wei Guangde thought so, because he hadn't expected things to happen so quickly.

Just three days after Zhang Juzheng left Beijing, Lei Shizhen, the Censor of Zhejiang Province, submitted a memorial impeaching Pan Sheng, a cabinet minister, for "forming cliques and engaging in corrupt practices." He accused Pan Sheng of interfering in the provincial examinations during his two tenures as Minister of Rites, and of using the examinations to curry favor with local gentry and advocate for his own interests.

The following day, Wang Jiguang, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Guo Weixian, an imperial censor, submitted another memorial accusing Pan Sheng of "forming cliques for personal gain" and requesting his dismissal.

As night fell, Zhang Ji stood bowing before Wei in the study of the Wei residence.

"So, according to you, this was all orchestrated by Zhang Siwei, and Feng Bao wasn't involved?"

Wei Guangde asked.

With Zhang Juzheng's retirement, undercurrents were swirling in the officialdom of the capital.

According to the investigation by the Wei family, it seems that there was a disagreement between the candidate recommended by Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao.

Feng Bao hoped that Zhang Juzheng would recommend someone else for the cabinet, rather than recommending Pan Sheng.

However, Zhang Juzheng did not heed Feng Bao's advice this time and insisted on his own judgment.

To be honest, Wei Guangde was also very curious about why Zhang Juzheng recommended Pan Sheng and the relationship between the two.

It should be noted that Zhang Juzheng's faction only disintegrated after his death.

Some people sided with Feng Bao, while others sided with Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing.

But what's the situation now? Although Zhang Juzheng's health is clearly failing, he's still alive. But just by returning to his hometown, his forces have fallen apart, which is simply unbearable to watch.

Yes, once someone leaves office, their influence fades. After Zhang Juzheng resigned, a series of officials who had attached themselves to him, hoping to gain his favor and promotion, withdrew their bets and sought new patrons.

The speed at which the tea cooled down was probably something even Zhang Juzheng himself hadn't anticipated.

In fact, Wei Guangde had already noticed Feng Bao and Zhang Siwei's underhanded tactics. Wang Zhuan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a powerful official in charge of evaluating officials, chose to side with Feng Bao.

According to Zhang Ji, after Zhang Juzheng decided to retire and no longer serve in the court, Wang Zhuan sided with Feng Bao, not only handing over secret correspondence with Zhang Juzheng and others, but also gifting him "a bushel of pearls from the South China Sea".

Clearly, this was his "pledge of allegiance" to Feng Bao.

"Any other news?"

Wei Guangde shook his head slightly and asked again.

"Tonight, Xu Xuemo, the Minister of Rites, went to the Zhang residence."

Zhang Ji said in a low voice.

"Xu Xuemo went to see Zhang Siwei?"

Wei Guangde frowned. As the Minister of Rites, if the censor's previous accusation that Pan Sheng "formed cliques for personal gain" could be considered hearsay, then if Xu Xuemo was involved, it might not just be empty talk. Pan Sheng might have left some loose ends during his tenure that led to his arrest.

"Hehe, hahaha."

Wei Guangde chuckled softly at first, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Everyone was eager to get a chance to join the cabinet."

Wei Guangde said softly, "I really didn't expect that even Xu Xuemo would get involved."

"It seems that Feng Bao hoped that Uncle Da would recommend Wang Zhuan, but he did not agree."

Xu Xuemo also wanted to join the cabinet, and to this end, he did not hesitate to join forces with Zhang Siwei to bring down Pan Sheng.

Wei Guangde had roughly figured out the situation, but Zhang Juzheng probably thought that the power network he had woven could be maintained for another two years after Pan Sheng entered the cabinet.

Therefore, it wasn't that Pan Sheng was recalled beforehand, but rather that he left first.

"Too arrogant."

Wei Guangde then commented.

"News has arrived from Linqing. It was delivered just half an hour ago. Grand Secretary Zhang's ship has docked in Linqing, and they are still looking for renowned doctors in the city to board the ship and treat the Grand Secretary."

Zhang Ji said in a low voice.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Guangde nodded, finally understanding why Zhang Juzheng had left the capital in such a hurry, unable to even wait for Pan Sheng's arrival. (End of Chapter)