prosperous age

Wei Guangde went to the backyard, where, with the help of his wife and maids, he changed out of his official robes and into ordinary clothes. He then wiped his face with a hot towel and felt refreshed.

However, he didn't forget the note Zhang Ji had secretly given him earlier. After he finished his work here, he went to the study and opened it to read it.

Wei Guangde's expression changed slightly after just one glance.

Wei Guangde was surprised to find that the note was addressed to Zeng Shengwu, saying that among the letters he found yesterday at Feng Bao's place, he discovered a letter from Zeng Shengwu, the Minister of Justice, to Feng Bao, along with many generous gifts.

Those letters contained damaging information about Zhang Siwei written by Zeng Shengwu, clearly indicating his intention to use Feng Bao to target Zhang Siwei.

"I never expected that Pan Sheng's affair would make Zeng Shengwu so shrewd, knowing who to deal with."

Wei Guangde smiled and didn't seem to care.

The letter had been intercepted by Liu Shouyou and had not been delivered to the emperor.

As for destroying it, Liu Shouyou didn't dare to do so; at most, he was just negligent and forgot to report it.

After all, so many eyes are watching.

Only the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard knew what they reported, which left room for manipulation.

Finding the tinderbox, Wei Guangde didn't keep the note; he burned it directly.

This note is a double-edged sword; there's no need to keep it.

He never intended to control the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Leaving them behind as leverage to restrain Liu Shouyou is just asking for trouble.

This single act alone is enough to qualify as treason and rebellion.

Remembering that Zeng Shengwu had come to him before seeking help from Wang Guoguang, Wei Guangde knew that this was probably a suggestion from Wang Guoguang.

Zeng Shengwu and Wang Guoguang did not have much contact on the surface, but they must have had contact in private, after all, they were both high-ranking officials of the second rank in the court and had a relatively close relationship with Zhang Juzheng.

It was probably Wang Guoguang's idea to target Zhang Siwei. Since he couldn't do it himself, he asked Zeng Shengwu to contact Feng Bao and have him direct the attack on Zhang Siwei, who was already a cabinet minister.

This possibility is actually quite high, but things didn't go as planned. They had their eyes on the kingdom's current position long ago, and it's not something that can be changed with a few words and a little money.

"Minister of Personnel, Minister of Personnel"

Wei Guangde muttered to himself, "After Wang Guoguang was dismissed, the position of Minister of Personnel is now vacant. The left and right vice ministers of the Ministry of Personnel take turns holding the seal and managing the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel."

Zhang Siwei is probably considering this official position now.

Wei Guangde was thinking to himself, "Should I let Lao Kan compete for this position?"

Wei Guangde could sense that he probably couldn't compete for this position.

It's not that he wasn't trusted by the Wanli Emperor, but rather that he couldn't possibly control so many government offices.

Now, the attitude of Zhang Xueyan of the Ministry of Revenue has gradually become public in the court, that is, he has completely sided with us.

In other words, Wei Guangde already controlled three ministerial positions in the six ministries, and the palace would never feel at ease if he continued to expand his power.

Wei Guangde was unwilling to give it to Zhang Siwei.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the bookshelf beside him. Wei Guangde remembered the letter he had received from Yin Shizhan, so he got up, took a box from the second shelf, and returned to his desk.

Upon opening the box, one finds a stack of letters.

He took out the top one, which was the letter he had received a couple of days ago from Yin Shizhan, recommending people to him.

He pulled out the letter, glanced at it, and whispered, "Yang Wei."

Yang Wei was from Wudi County, Shandong Province, and was a fellow townsman of Yin Shizhan. He was disheartened about his official career, but was willing to recommend people he valued to Wei Guangde.

Yang Wei, courtesy name Boqian, also known as Ershan, passed the county student examination at the age of 17, which is equivalent to a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), making him a true child prodigy.

He passed the provincial examination in the 22nd year of the Jiajing reign (1543) and became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 26th year of the Jiajing reign (1547). He was in the same cohort as Zhang Juzheng, but he was already sixty years old.

After passing the imperial examination, Yang Wei first served as an intern in the Ministry of Revenue, and later was appointed as the magistrate of Wujin County, Changzhou Prefecture. He then served successively as a supervising secretary in the Ministry of War, a postal relay officer in Shanxi Province, and the garrison commander of Pingxing Pass in Yanmen. Later, he was promoted to the position of councilor of the Northern Route and stationed in the Left Guard of Xuanfu West Route.

For his military merits, Yang Wei was quickly promoted to Vice Commissioner of the Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commission. Due to his repeated great achievements, the Jiajing Emperor issued a special imperial edict to promote him to Right Vice Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Xuanfu.

Later, due to his elderly mother's frequent illnesses, he earnestly requested to return to his hometown to care for her.

In the forty-fifth year of the Jiajing reign, Yang Wei was summoned back to the capital and appointed Right Vice Censor-in-Chief to inspect and govern Shaanxi.

A few years later, because his mother was nearly ninety years old, he applied to return to his hometown again. In the first year of the Wanli reign, Yang Wei was summoned back to the capital and promoted to Vice Minister of War. The following year, he was transferred to the Ministry of Personnel and appointed by Zhang Juzheng to preside over the case of Wang Dachen.

Because the trial of Wang Dachen's case did not follow the script set by Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, he offended Zhang Juzheng and therefore quickly chose to leave the court.

Clearly, Zhang Juzheng's death gave Yang Wei hope.

The main reason he dared not take office in previous years was his fear of Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng, who could be overthrown by Gao Gong at will.

After all, it was Gao Gong who summoned him to the capital in the first place, and Zhang Juzheng had him, a fellow graduate, in charge of handling the Wang Dachen case, which was also a way of seeing what he would say.

However, Yang Wei disappointed him.

However, perhaps due to his early military career and long-term experience leading troops in battle, although he is over sixty years old, he is still very agile and capable, not at all like a sixty-year-old man, but more like many middle-aged and elderly people in their forties and fifties.

Yang Wei had little contact with Wei Guangde, but felt he was still capable, so he asked Yin Shizhan for help, hoping to make a comeback.

It is evident that for a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) to become an official was as simple as drinking water.

An official who hasn't stumbled and struggled in the officialdom a few times really doesn't seem like an official.

Just like the general trend, the constant coming together and parting of forces was actually the norm in the ancient officialdom.

Yan Song resigned from his official post twice, but in the end, he still rose to the position of Grand Secretary and served for twenty years.

"It would be inappropriate for him to rise to the rank of Vice Minister and then directly become Minister of Personnel upon returning to the capital."

Wei Guangde muttered to himself, "If we can't use our own people, then using people recommended by our allies is actually a good option."

At least from the outside, Yang Wei and Wei Guangde seem to have nothing in common.

Given Yang Wei's resume, it would be a stretch to directly replace Wang Guoguang; he's only relying on his seniority.

That was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 26th year of the Jiajing reign; he was definitely a senior figure.

The main force of the court officials has now shifted to the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) after the 30th year of the Jiajing reign, and many Jinshi from the Longqing reign have begun to distinguish themselves.

China has always been a society that values ​​seniority, so it's really difficult to arrange a suitable official position for Yang Wei if he wants to make a comeback.

"Then let's go to Nanjing for a while. I'll keep the position of Minister of Personnel for you."

Upon considering this, Wei Guangde immediately prepared pen and ink, intending to write a memorial recommending Yang Wei, who was retired at home, to serve as the Minister of Revenue in Nanjing and to be granted the title of Senior Grand Master.

With the title of Second-Rank Minister, he could delay the appointment of Minister of Personnel to Zhang Siwei within the cabinet for about six months. By then, Yang Wei would likely have re-established his connections in the capital, making it a natural progression to transfer him back to the capital as Minister of Personnel. While Wei Guangde pondered the position of Minister of Personnel, Zhang Siwei was also at his residence contemplating who should hold the post.

Zhang Siwei would certainly not allow Wang Zhuan or Lao Kan to become Minister of Personnel. One was a traitor who actually sided with Feng Bao instead of him, and the other was Wei Guangde's henchman, who could not be trusted at all.

However, Zhang Siwei had already planned who would be appointed as the Minister of Personnel, and that person was someone Wei Guangde was quite familiar with: Liang Menglong, the Vice Minister of War.

Wei Guangde knew that Liang Menglong was from Zhengding in Beizhili, but he did not know that the Liang family was originally from Weizhou in Shanxi, and were actually from the same hometown as Zhang Siwei.

However, some members of the Liang family moved to Zhengding to avoid the war, but the Liang family in Weizhou was still a large clan, only the clan members were dispersed to protect themselves.

Therefore, Liang Menglong and Zhang Siwei also had contact in private.

However, Zhang Siwei knew that if he recommended Liang Menglong, he would definitely not be able to get past Wei Guangde.

To ask Wei Guangde to recommend Liang Menglong would undoubtedly be a pipe dream.

Also in the study, Zhang Siwei held a teacup in one hand but did not drink the tea for a long time, just staring blankly.

Zhang Juzheng had only recently died, and Feng Bao had already been impeached. If I were to press my advantage and continue to target Wei Guangde, the Wanli Emperor might not approve.

Zhang Jing never said anything about the emperor's dissatisfaction with Wei Guangde, which shows that he still held some position in the emperor's eyes.

In the past two days, Wei Guangde was summoned by the Wanli Emperor twice, but he was not summoned even once.

Although it was a difficult situation, Zhang Siwei was not one to give up easily; he was still willing to take the gamble.

Although they couldn't bring down Wei Guangde, if Wei Guangde were unable to attend court for some reason during the discussion of the Minister of Revenue, wouldn't there be an opportunity for Liang Menglong to take the position?

Even if Wei Guangde returns by then, he will likely be too far away to help.

"He campaigned in the east, engaged in commerce, and sought patronage from Feng Bao."

One accusation after another flashed through Zhang Siwei's mind. Although none of them would seriously harm Wei Guangde, as long as the impeachment memorial was submitted, Wei Guangde would have to go back to his residence first, and Zhang Siwei could temporarily take charge of the cabinet.

Of all these charges, the one that most likely displeased the emperor was that he had curried favor with Feng Bao, but he also knew that this charge was almost impossible to believe.

They were old acquaintances, and there was no way they could be considered to be trying to curry favor with each other.

After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with a suitable charge, so he could only consider finding someone first, and after deciding on the candidate, let him fabricate a few charges to impeach him.

Not all censors dare to impeach the Grand Secretary; the choice of who to make the decision really needs careful consideration.

After all, he himself knew that the grounds for impeachment were untenable.

Basically, after this impeachment, the censor's position was in jeopardy, and he would definitely be demoted to a local post as an assistant official for a period of time, which could be considered a punishment for his impeachment of the Grand Secretary.

Some people believe that in ancient times, the only punishment for such officials who made mistakes was to be demoted to local positions, transforming them from officials in the capital to local officials, and making them county magistrates in poor and remote areas.

In fact, for officials in the capital who were not valued, being a county magistrate was actually a good job. After all, they were acting as the emperor's representatives and governing the people in their own right, and were considered local emperors.

In reality, officials who have made mistakes would never be given such official positions; they would mostly be second or third-ranking officials in prefectures or counties, such as assistant prefects or judges.

While Zhang Siwei was still considering who to impeach and what charges to bring, Wei Guangde unexpectedly offered him evidence.

"Is what you're saying true? Zhang Ji, the head steward of Wei Guangde's mansion, personally escorted Feng Bao, gave him money, and even made arrangements with the escorting officials?"

Two days later, Zhang Siwei received the news from the mansion.

Feng Bao was escorted to Nanjing by the Shuntian Prefecture officials. As he left the city, he was seen off by Zhang Ji from the Wei family, who gave him a ginseng root and two hundred taels of silver as travel expenses.

In the past, this wouldn't have been a big deal, but now the timing is sensitive.

Today, the Ministry of Personnel submitted a memorial requesting that the court make arrangements for the vacant official positions. The memorial was jointly submitted by Wang Zhuan and Lao Kan.

Although Feng Bao lost power, Wang Zhuan was clearly not giving up and still wanted to gamble.

In recent days, he has been hosting banquets for officials from the six ministries, hoping to win over people and create public opinion.

After all, he had spent more time in the Ministry of Personnel, which gave him a significant advantage over Lao Kan.

Just when Zhang Siwei was worried about not being able to find evidence of collusion between Wei Guangde and Feng Bao, Wei Guangde actually sent his steward to see Feng Bao off while Feng Bao was being punished by the emperor. Moreover, he was the only one in the entire court to send someone, which shows that the two had a close relationship. It seems that no evidence is needed to say that they were secretly colluding.

The Ministry of Personnel's memorial has been submitted to the Grand Secretariat, and an imperial edict should arrive in the next couple of days, ordering the Grand Secretariat to recommend a candidate for Minister of Personnel.

At this moment, Zhang Siwei felt that it was heaven's help, as Wei Guangde had taken the initiative to deliver the evidence to him.

So Zhang Siwei immediately summoned his steward, named a few officials, and asked him to invite them to his residence for a meeting.

Previously, they probably wouldn't have dared to fabricate evidence to impeach Wei Guangde.

However, if we take this opportunity of sending Feng Bao away to impeach him, I believe that Emperor Wanli, in his anger, will grant him a few days off so that he can reflect on his actions at home.

Taking advantage of this short time, he preemptively seized the position of Minister of Personnel.

Tonight, in the teahouses and taverns of the capital, the news of Feng Bao's expulsion from the capital was naturally the main topic of conversation at the tables.

After all, Feng Bao had considerable influence in the capital. When it comes to who was the most powerful person in the court at the beginning of the Wanli era, most people would say Zhang Juzheng, but many people also suspected that Zhang Juzheng was also controlled by Feng Bao in many ways, and that Zhang Juzheng was often helping Feng Bao.

As to the true nature of their relationship, outsiders mostly rely on the orders issued by Zhang Juzheng, which were clearly instigated by Feng Bao.

However, Wei Guangde was well aware that Zhang Juzheng generally acted according to his own wishes, but if Feng Bao intervened, he would indeed give full consideration to Feng Bao's wishes.

Therefore, the truth is that Feng Bao was actually very assertive in front of Zhang Juzheng. Sometimes, Wei Guangde even felt that Zhang Juzheng was like a submissive wife being restrained by Feng Bao.

Of course, Feng Bao did have a broad perspective and knew that Zhang Juzheng's proposals were correct, so on major issues of right and wrong, he followed Zhang Juzheng's proposals.

This is a key reason why they were able to cooperate, something Wei Guangde couldn't do, repeatedly refusing Feng Bao, which led to a breakdown in their relationship.

If it weren't for the fact that they later re-established contact through the mineral deposits in Myanmar, who knows if Feng Bao would have taken action against him later.

However, none of this happened, and Wei Guangde didn't bother to think about it.

Many people in later generations said, "I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me," but how could that be the case in reality?

Those are words only the best person in the world has the right to say. In society, one is bound by the constraints of one's surroundings.

Wei Guangde is now using Feng Bao to bolster his reputation; in reality, their relationship is one of mutual exploitation.

Feng Bao made money from Myanmar through him, while Wei Guangde used this incident to appease Feng Bao and ultimately used Feng Bao to build his own public image. It's that simple.

"To be honest, Grand Secretary Wei is really something; even at a time like this, he's still thinking of his old friend."

When talking about Feng Bao, the topic naturally inevitably turns to the Wei family, who were the only ones to see him off today.

Although they didn't go, someone was watching them.

"A twenty-year friendship is only natural." (End of Chapter)