prosperous age

While most Beijing officials were still celebrating Feng Bao's downfall, some had already begun distributing the wealth confiscated from Feng Bao's home.

Because it was in the capital, the division of such a large fortune was certainly not done in the same way as it was done with the Yan family. In the beginning, for the sake of merit, a list of confiscated property was handed over to the capital after the inventory was completed, thus sowing the seeds of future troubles.

Many people were dismissed from their posts or even lost their lives as a result.

However, this seems to confirm the old saying, "People die for wealth, birds die for food."

Feng Bao's warehouse had too many jewels and jades. Zhang Jing had already taken a whole box of them, but there were still quite a few left.

Almost everyone assumed that Feng Bao embezzled the jewelry he purchased for the palace, but a very few people knew that these items were not actually obtained in that way, but were transported directly from the southwest to the mansion.

But these people will never be able to speak again.

Those businesses not listed on the register, all those involved, will never see the sun rise again.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was that domineering.

Meanwhile, the members of the Eastern Depot who followed were still foolishly stuffing pearls, agates, and jade into their pockets, thinking they were doing it without anyone noticing.

The next morning, Wei Guangde had breakfast at his residence and then went out to work. These were turbulent times, so he naturally had to keep a close eye on the development of events and would not relax until the very last moment.

Today, as soon as he arrived at the Cabinet entrance, he saw a young eunuch standing in front of the Cabinet.

There are eunuchs in the cabinet who usually help with some things, but no one waits at the cabinet gate.

This is inside the Forbidden City, so there's no need to assign gatekeepers.

Wei Guangde walked over and saw the eunuch walking briskly toward him.

"This humble servant pays his respects to Grand Secretary Wei."

When the eunuch saw Wei Guangde, he first bowed and then stood up straight.

"I wondered why you were waiting for me here, Father-in-law?"

Wei Guangde asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I am Huang Zhong of Qianqing Palace, a eunuch under Eunuch Liu. I have been ordered by His Majesty to summon Grand Secretary Wei to Qianqing Palace for a meeting."

Although the Wanli Emperor had assumed personal rule and held great power, he had no intention of restoring the old system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, namely the morning court session.

After all, when he was young, he had to get up early every month to attend the morning court several times a month.

On other days, the morning court session was alright, but the morning court session in winter was a real ordeal.

Perhaps due to psychological trauma, coupled with the fact that the Ming Dynasty had not had the habit of attending court for decades, no official in the capital was willing to bring up that matter.

Who wouldn't want to stay in bed for an extra hour? Why bother standing outside the Meridian Gate in the wind?

As a result, from the emperor to the officials, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning court sessions, as if such a rule had never existed.

Of course, the morning and evening court assemblies on the first and fifteenth of each month are still held, but after the ceremony, everyone simply leaves and goes about their own business.

When Wei Guangde heard the emperor's summons, he naturally could not enter the cabinet, and followed the eunuch Huang Zhong to the Qianqing Palace.

Outside the palace gate, Wei Guangde stood still, allowing Huang Zhong to go in and announce his arrival. Before long, he was led into the palace.

At the entrance of the main hall, Zhang Jing and Liu Ruoyu stood on the left and right, respectively. This was usually where Wang An would stand.

Clearly, because of Feng Bao's downfall, all the eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace who had any connection with Feng Bao had been replaced by the senior eunuchs Zhang Hong, Zhang Cheng, and others.

In fact, this applies not only to the Qianqing Palace but also to other palaces.

Those who are replaced naturally face the end of their future prospects; at least for most, this is the case.

The palace will reassign them to the worst jobs.

As for what happens next, that's up to fate.

"Good morning, Grand Secretary Wei."

Liu Ruoyu was standing on the right. When he saw Wei Guangde arrive, he lowered his head slightly.

Zhang Jing, who was standing next to him, was still in high spirits because he had made a fortune yesterday, so he smiled and said to Wei Guangde.

"Hehe, Eunuch Zhang, good morning too. You've worked hard serving His Majesty."

Wei Guangde was slightly taken aback, then chuckled and said.

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work, it's all what we servants should do."

As Zhang Jing spoke, he pushed open the palace door and invited Wei Guangde inside.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly in acknowledgment before stepping into the hall.

"Master Wei, over here."

Upon entering the main hall, he found no one on the throne, but he immediately heard the Wanli Emperor's voice coming from the study to the side.

Wei Guangde followed the sound and entered the side hall, where the Wanli Emperor read and practiced calligraphy, and also reviewed memorials.

"Your subject Wei Guangde pays his respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"

After Wei Guangde bowed, Emperor Wanli told him to get up and then called Zhang Jing to bring him a stool so he could sit on one side of the imperial desk.

"Go down now. Do not come in without a summons."

Emperor Wanli gave Zhang Jing a brief instruction and then waved him away.

The current Wanli Emperor should be said to have truly grasped control of both the inner and outer courts, whereas before he was somewhat hampered by Feng Bao.

Now, finally, no one can influence him anymore.

"Master Wei, you should know about what happened yesterday."

Now that only the two of them were left, Emperor Wanli spoke more casually and directly addressed him.

"Your Majesty is referring to the matter in the palace. I heard about it when I returned to my residence yesterday."

Wei Guangde nodded in agreement.

"Master Wei, the reason I've called you here is to ask you what should be done with Feng Bao?"

The question Emperor Wanli asked was naturally about the memorial impeaching Feng Bao by censors Li Zhi and Jiang Dongzhi, which listed more than ten charges against him.

"What does Your Majesty think should be done with Feng Bao?"

Wei Guangde merely frowned and then asked directly.

Over the years, when they are alone together, they speak very directly, getting straight to the point without beating around the bush.

"Leaving aside his corruption over the years, just for the Yongning affair alone, he deserves to be torn to pieces."

Emperor Wanli spoke angrily.

"But His Majesty is unwilling to issue this decree. Is it because he still cherishes the old friendship? After all, he is an old man who has taken care of His Majesty's daily life since His Majesty was a toddler."

Wei Guangde continued speaking in response to this.

"Ah, yes, he has been by my side ever since I can remember."

I see him more often than I see my father.

Emperor Wanli was not a heartless person; in fact, he was quite caring towards those around him.

As for the dirty deeds he did in the palace before, most of them were just for fun. Saying he would beat and kill the eunuchs was just to scare them.

"The only people left in the court who are still from the Prince's mansion are Master Wei and Feng Bao, so I can't make a decision."

Did you know? Yesterday, I sent Zhang Jing and his men with the Imperial Guards to Feng Bao's residence, where they discovered a million taels of silver, gold, and silver in the storeroom, along with a large quantity of jewelry, jade, calligraphy, paintings, and antiques. Could a mere servant like him have obtained all this through normal means?”

Next, the Wanli Emperor angrily recounted Feng Bao's faults, and even receiving a million taels of silver did not seem to quell his dissatisfaction.

He had been suppressed by Feng Bao for more than ten years, and once he was freed, the grievances he had kept hidden for more than ten years burst out uncontrollably.

What disgusted him most was that his personal attendant, who was supposed to be his lord, had always relied on the Empress Dowager to oppress him.

Yes, Emperor Wanli felt that Feng Bao was bullying him. In the Yongning affair, Feng Bao nominally accepted money from others, but in reality, he was just trying to annoy him, the emperor.

The matter concerning Princess Yongning was handled by Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, and Wei Guangde did not interfere much.

He knew the actual situation perfectly well; he was too busy hiding to even think about it.

After all, they were the emperor's own siblings, born of the same mother. Wei Guangde thought Feng Bao had gone mad to commit such a heinous act for a few thousand taels of silver.

Perhaps, Empress Dowager Li had trusted and relied on him too much in the past, which made Feng Bao arrogant and spoiled.

Torturing someone with a thousand cuts is, of course, unacceptable.

Wei Guangde listened quietly to Emperor Wanli's account, waiting for him to vent his pent-up resentment.

"Feng Bao is indeed guilty, but he also made great contributions."

Wei Guangde and the Wanli Emperor finished speaking before he spoke.

"What great achievement?"

Emperor Wanli stared at Wei Guangde. He had summoned him to express his pent-up frustrations over the years and to gain Wei Guangde's support. He wanted to execute Feng Bao, otherwise he feared Feng Bao might become his inner demon.

"Why did His Majesty inherit the throne as the eldest son of the emperor?"

Meeting the emperor's gaze, Wei Guangde said, "I remember when Feng Baogang was exiled to the Prince Yu's residence by the late emperor, Your Majesty was still an infant."

Wei Guangde began to recall when Feng Bao was punished and banished from his position as Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial to the Prince Yu's residence. From then on, Feng Bao had been in charge of Zhu Yijun's daily life.

In ancient times, the infant mortality rate was very high, and few children survived to adulthood. Both the Jiajing Emperor and the Longqing Emperor had a number of sons who died.

The reason why there are few historical records is that children are usually not even listed in family genealogies in ancient times until they are a few years old, as if they never existed.

"I still remember when we watched the lantern festival at Aoshan outside Chengtian Gate, the late Emperor was holding Crown Prince Xianhuai while watching the lanterns. He didn't seem to remember Prince Jingdao much, as he was not even a year old yet."

Emperor Wanli, Zhu Yijun, was the third son of Emperor Longqing. His two older brothers died young, which gave him the opportunity to inherit the throne.

When Wei Guangde said this, he was actually praising the Wanli Emperor. In any case, Feng Bao had taken care of him and raised him, which was a great favor to him.

Were the eunuchs and palace maids around Crown Prince Xianhuai and Prince Jingdao not taking good care of them?
not necessarily.

Was he assassinated?

While this possibility cannot be ruled out, there is at least no evidence to support it; it is more likely due to illness.

After all, in ancient times, although many famous doctors emerged, many diseases were incurable due to limitations in medical knowledge and technology.

Of course, there is another theory, which is that the people around the prince might be incompatible with them.

"I understand."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly. If he was the chosen one, then Feng Bao was the person sent by Heaven to his side.

This is the most profound mystery, the gateway to all wonders; it depends on one's own understanding.

"Master Wei, what do you think is the best course of action against Feng Bao? I do not want to see him or hear his name again."

Emperor Wanli finally revealed his true thoughts.

Wei Guangde believed that Emperor Wanli actually had his own thoughts, but he was unwilling to say them aloud and needed Wei Guangde to say them on his behalf.

"Feng Bao has committed a serious crime, but considering his more than ten years of care for His Majesty, His Majesty cannot bear to punish him severely. Therefore, he has been exiled to Nanjing to guard the imperial tombs."

The tombs of Ming Dynasty emperors are located in both Nanjing and Beijing. Wei Guangde proposed sending them to Nanjing, which naturally satisfied Emperor Wanli's desire to never see him again.

"What is Your Majesty's opinion on this matter?"

Wei Guangde said, "Actually, exiling him to the Nanjing Chongjing Army is also an option, but he is too old and doesn't have many years left to live."

If word gets out, people will say His Majesty is too kind to those around him.

Wei Guangde chose to remain silent before finishing his sentence, believing that the Wanli Emperor would understand.

In any case, he had already thought of the emperor's interests and had also found a good place for Feng Bao.

Guarding the tombs wasn't an easy job, but at least it wasn't torture.

At worst, Feng Bao will give him some silver when he leaves.

With money by his side, Feng Bao would live a relatively carefree life in Nanjing, and Wei Guangde had no shortage of money.

“Let him guard the tomb, then let him guard the tomb of the founding emperor, as an atonement, and let the founding emperor teach him a lesson.”

Emperor Wanli accepted Wei Guangde's suggestion and arranged for him to guard the imperial tombs.

"Master Wei, the Ministry of War previously submitted a secret report on the strategy for the eastern expedition. I would like to ask if sending only tens of thousands of troops would be sufficient?"

Just as Wei Guangde thought the conversation was over and was about to take his leave and return to the cabinet after a few more casual words, Emperor Wanli suddenly asked about the eastern expedition plan.

"I have read the reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to Japan. I used to think it was a small country, but I never expected it to have such a large population and army."

The key issue is that they are still fighting amongst themselves, and they are all seasoned veterans.

"As I see from the Ministry of War's plan, the two armies, one in the north and one in the south, will have fewer than 30,000 elite soldiers. Even with the 10,000-plus elite troops from the Jizhou garrison as reinforcements, it seems somewhat insufficient."

Because of Wei Guangde's connections, he explained the situation of the Ming army in detail to the Wanli Emperor, which is why the emperor was able to distinguish between combat troops and supply troops.

They knew that although the imperial court maintained a million-strong army, only a little over 100,000 of them were combat soldiers, and the rest had little fighting power. They could only fight when things were going well, and they were likely to collapse if things went against them.

With over 100,000 soldiers, it would certainly be difficult to defend such a vast empire.

This is also why those elite troops were repeatedly deployed to the battlefield in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.

The garrison troops also collapsed in the later years of the Wanli reign, leaving only a few elite units to stabilize the war situation.

Fortunately, there are still 100,000 troops available to be mobilized in the north, so the military has not completely collapsed.

"Japan's narrow terrain is not conducive to large-scale military operations."

Furthermore, although the daimyo of Japan often mobilized tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight in internal conflicts, they were actually less than supply troops. Their combat troops, or what they called samurai, probably numbered only tens of thousands.

It's impossible for any major daimyo to commit all their forces to the Iwami battlefield; that would be suicidal. The most likely scenario is that they will conscript a large number of soldiers to their deaths.

Moreover, according to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, although Japan has a large military force, its army is only equipped with a large number of arquebuses, which are our matchlock muskets, and lacks artillery weapons.

Therefore, this time, I sent Qi Jiguang with a large number of cannons to directly blast open the enemy's formation.

The key to this battle was actually the naval force's ability to annihilate the Japanese pirate fleet. As long as the two major Japanese naval forces were destroyed, not only could the safety of Sado Island be guaranteed, but the southern army could also establish a foothold in Japan by blockading the Seto Inland Sea.

At that time, the northern and southern armies could concentrate their main forces on the northern front of Iwami to engage the Japanese army, forcing the Japanese Grand Minister of State to acknowledge the cession of the Iwami region as compensation for the Japanese pirates' plunder of the Ming Dynasty.

To be honest, Wei Guangde was not sure whether the Grand Minister of State of Japan was Oda Hidenobu or Hashiba Hideyoshi, as the Embroidered Uniform Guard had not explicitly informed him.

But without a doubt, power has most likely fallen into the hands of Hideyoshi Hashiba.

"Master Wei, it would be better to send more elite troops as reserves."

Although Wei Guangde seemed very confident, the Wanli Emperor still offered a word of caution. (End of Chapter)