prosperous age

Although most officials understood Wei Guangde's decision to send someone to escort Feng Bao, and even secretly admired him, they would not voice their opinions.

After all, Feng Bao was a eunuch, not a civil official like them who had passed the imperial examinations.

If he was a civil official, then he must have been framed by treacherous officials.

As for the eunuchs being exiled, they deserved it; the net of heaven is vast and its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes it.

For them, it was just a matter of discussing it privately, but no one would have thought of using it as a pretext to impeach the chief minister.

Even the censors and officials who were extremely sensitive to current affairs would not have thought of this.

After all, it was already common practice for Wei Guangde to send gifts to officials who had left the capital, and everyone knew that.

The price of ginseng in Beijing is extremely high now. For medicinal materials that can nourish vital energy, high-aged ginseng is even more scarce and expensive. So everyone is looking forward to receiving a high-aged ginseng when they are old and frail and forced to retire and return to their hometown, so that they can take it back to take good care of their health and live a few more years.

The next day, things remained calm in the court.

Zhang Siwei has already made arrangements for people to draft the impeachment memorial in the next two days, and then repeatedly polish it to emphasize the seriousness of the matter.

Of course, they also knew that this kind of thing couldn't be delayed.

If you delay, the effect will be greatly reduced.

As the second-in-command, Zhang Siwei naturally knew better. So, after dealing with some memorials in his office that morning, he sent his men to inquire with the cabinet about how the memorial concerning the Minister of Personnel had been handled after it was returned from the palace.

Before long, a clerk came in to report: "Master, Grand Secretary Wei has sent people to contact various departments to inquire about the time of the Nine Ministers' meeting."

The selection of the Minister of Personnel is certainly not something that the three members of the cabinet can decide together. However, they usually meet beforehand to discuss whether there are any candidates in the cabinet.

After all, as the Nine Ministers, everyone knows that they have countless connections with most of the people inside.

It could even be said that the meetings among the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet could actually determine the tone of the Nine Ministers' Meeting.

This time, Wei Guangde's decision was quite unusual. Instead of convening them to discuss the candidates first, he directly prepared for the Nine Ministers' meeting, which was very unusual.

He wasn't ready yet today; he would have to review the memorial later.

Although I know it's futile, I must seize even the slightest chance, just in case His Majesty in the palace is also dissatisfied.

Thinking of this, Zhang Siwei calmly dismissed the person leaving, while he continued to peruse the endless stream of memorials.

Later that evening, Wei Guangde finally sent someone over to inquire about the time.

"Grand Secretary Zhang, my master sent me to inquire whether you have any important matters to attend to these two days. If not, please convene the Nine Ministers this afternoon to discuss the selection of the Minister of Personnel, so that we can give a reply to the palace as soon as possible."

The visitor was Lu Bu, who was on duty in Wei Guangde's room. After bowing to Zhang Siwei, he respectfully explained his purpose.

Don't assume that cabinet ministers spend all their time in their offices processing memorials. Wei Guangde would occasionally go out to visit various departments, as would Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing.

When Shen Shixing first joined the cabinet, he spent almost half his time traveling outside. At that time, it was the time to survey the estates of nobles in the capital. Without his intervention, the officials of Shuntian Prefecture would not dare to do their jobs.

Even if those nobles were down on their luck, their rank was still several levels higher than that of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and they were simply not people the Prefect could afford to offend.

"I have something to do this afternoon, so maybe tomorrow afternoon. I might not have time in the morning."

Zhang Siwei had already planned ahead. He would release the memorial impeaching Wei Guangde first thing tomorrow morning. Wei Guangde would then be waiting at his residence, and the power to lead the Nine Ministers' meeting would inevitably fall into his hands.

"Oh, I see. Very well, I'll go back and report right away."

Lu Bu was taken aback, not expecting Zhang Siwei to push the time to tomorrow afternoon.

But it's none of his business; it's his master's decision anyway.

Actually, according to our previous practice, we could have just sent out a notice to gather everyone together; it would have been a simple election meeting, and wouldn't have taken much time.

Lu Bu returned to the duty room and repeated what Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing had said.

Shen Shixing was naturally fine and could go anytime, but Zhang Siwei set the approximate time for tomorrow afternoon, which surprised Wei Guangde a little.

Wei Guangde originally planned to gather people in the afternoon, but by then everyone would be at a loss, since it was a surprise attack.

Therefore, since the first meeting of the Nine Ministers has not yet reached a conclusion, the imperial decree can be put aside for now. We can wait ten days or half a month, and convene a second meeting whenever the palace inquires about it.

His memorial has already been submitted, and I believe the imperial edict concerning Yang Wei should be issued within the next day or two.

Yang Wei was to be appointed Minister of Revenue in Nanjing. He was to be given at least six months to prepare for the appointment. In any case, Lao Kan was to take charge of the Ministry of Personnel first.

As long as Wang Zhuan knows that he has no hope of promotion, he will definitely be willing to cooperate with Lao Kan to do a good job in the Ministry of Personnel first, so as to prepare some ways out for himself.

In this way, the Ministry of Personnel would certainly not cause any trouble during this period and would not take the initiative to submit a memorial to inquire.

Who would want to have a powerful official above them? Without a Minister of Personnel, the two Vice Ministers could decide the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. How wonderful!

"Tomorrow? Alright, then you can pass on the message to the officials and set it for tomorrow afternoon."

Wei Guangde couldn't very well disobey Zhang Siwei's wishes at this point, so he could only speak to Lu Bu.

Sending a passerby to deliver the message was a simple matter, and Wei Guangde believed he could do it well.

However, even after Lu Bu left, Wei Guangde was still pondering this matter.

There's something odd about the time Zhang Siwei chose.

However, he was unaware that Zhang Siwei planned to use the incident of sending Feng Bao to have him impeached and temporarily strip him of his power.

As for the final outcome, it depends on whether the one in the palace still harbors such thoughts.

If it exists, then naturally we will seize the opportunity to acquire it.

No, naturally Grand Secretary Wei will return to the cabinet to carry out his duties a few days later.

To outsiders, these were nothing more than the actions of censors and officials observing people's expressions and trying to guess the emperor's intentions.

When Zhang Juzheng was overthrown in later generations, it was actually through the constant probing by censors and officials that the Wanli Emperor's attitude was finally discovered, leading to wave after wave of purges against Zhang Juzheng's faction.

They may not have genuinely believed that Zhang Juzheng's policies were problematic, but rather they were simply after official positions that could be vacated in the imperial court.

Perhaps this is why Emperor Wanli later completely neglected the outer court, keeping all memorials from recommending officials in the inner court and not issuing them, resulting in serious vacancies in various government offices.

In many cases, there are even strange phenomena where the top two officials retire and leave the capital for several years, but no new officials take over their positions. Instead, lower-ranking officials temporarily assume the authority of the ministry according to their rank.

Soon, the day passed quickly. Upon returning home, Wei Guangde received news that Lao Kan, Jiang Zhi, Zhang Ke, and others had all sent invitations, saying they would be coming over later.

What Wei Guangde couldn't have imagined, they certainly couldn't, especially Lao Kan.

Although his informants in the Censorate did not send any messages, Zhang Siwei's sudden postponement of the Nine Ministers' Meeting by one day, which was related to his position as Minister of Personnel, still caught his attention.

Although it was a meeting of the Nine Ministers, the position of Minister of Personnel was vacant, so both Vice Ministers of Personnel were required to attend.

They had no say, so they could only listen and see who their future superiors might be.

Lao Kan and Wang Zhuan were not on the same page, so they naturally couldn't see eye to eye. Now that Wang Zhuan was in charge of the seal, he had time to think about the strangeness of this matter.

With the arrival of these people, Wei Guangde naturally heard their speculations.

Some people believe that Zhang Siwei was trying to find someone to discuss the selection of the Minister of Personnel. Although he was not in a dominant position at the Nine Ministers Conference, he would definitely try to make trouble and expand the nomination meeting to a ministerial meeting or even a court meeting, so that his people would have room to maneuver.

Lao Kan, on the other hand, guessed that Zhang Siwei would launch an impeachment against Wei Guangde the next day, temporarily banish him back to his residence, and use his position as the head of the Nine Ministers' Meeting to promote the person he recommended to the position.

Even if his plan fails, he can still hold an expanded council meeting.

No one knows how many people Zhang Siwei has brought down in the court over the years using his silver bullet offensive. Back when he first entered the cabinet, he used the power of the censors under his command to demonstrate his strength in the outer court.

"Shan Dai, we must not take this matter lightly."

After Lao Kan finished explaining his thoughts, he stared at Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde thought for a moment, then nodded slightly and said, "Ren Zhi's words make a lot of sense. He might really think that way."

Among the Nine Ministers, at least the Minister of Rites would stand with him, as would the one from the Court of Judicial Review.

In the past, Wei Guangde did not attach much importance to the Five Temples, since they did not have much real power, including the Commissioner of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

So, now that I think about it, it's likely that Zhang Siwei had already made moves against the Five Temples and tried to win over the officials among them.

After all, in the eyes of the true power holders in the court, the Five Temples were just government offices that provided a transition, a stepping stone from the Hanlin Academy to the court.

In terms of power, the Six Ministries naturally held the greatest authority, controlling all aspects of the court's affairs.

"Should we have someone prepare a memorial overnight and send it in first thing tomorrow morning to impeach Zhang Siwei?"

Zhang Ke began to speak.

He was the one in the room who was most severely hurt by the impeachment.

He had worked hard to obtain the position of Zhejiang Provincial Inspector, and after Hu Zongxian was removed from office, he took the opportunity to temporarily assume the power to suppress Japanese pirates in the southeast.

But before he could even get comfortable with it, he was impeached because of a mutiny.

Nima, or the Fujian mutiny, although he temporarily held power, he couldn't actually extend his reach into Fujian; he only had nominal command authority.

Even so, he handled the situation promptly after the mutiny and quickly quelled the incident, which he believed to be a perfect fulfillment of his duties.

Even so, he was still impeached, stripped of his official position, and forced to live in seclusion. Filled with resentment, he wrote a memorial requesting to retire and returned to his hometown, where he was confined for ten years.

Even when the Longqing Emperor issued him a warrant for his reinstatement, he directly refused.

This time, if he hadn't seen Wei Guangde and Lao Kan gradually becoming successful, he wouldn't have had any intention of returning.

The imperial court is too corrupt.

He arrived and finally witnessed the darkness of the court, realizing that he had no background and therefore, even if he temporarily gained power, he would soon lose it.

From the perspective of those in power, there are actually many capable officials; having one more or one less makes no difference.

This was perhaps the choice Emperor Jiajing made back then. Who told you to have no powerful backing? Like a child carrying gold through a bustling market, someone would definitely covet it.

It's actually quite good if people are just staying idle; many people are framed and prosecuted directly.

Well, for officials in the Ming Dynasty, fabricating charges is actually a bit of an exaggeration, since most officials actually deserved their punishment, because there were very few truly clean officials.

At this moment, all he could think of was to use their own methods against them. If Zhang Siwei impeached them, they also had plenty of censors who could launch an impeachment against Zhang Siwei.

At worst, both sides will suffer losses.

Unexpectedly, Wei Guangde smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need, let him make the move."

I'd like to see what he's impeaching me for; it's a necessary process for me to reflect on myself after each act of kindness.

See what aspects of my behavior others perceive as inadequate, and then correct them in the future.

Wei Guangde did indeed laugh with a calm and composed expression.

He guessed, or rather, he didn't consider himself a corrupt official in the court. He had embezzled money, but in the end, it didn't benefit him, because he didn't care about those paltry sums at all.

These sums of money were all part of the unspoken rules, which he couldn't break, so he accepted them.

However, there were indeed poor students in the court, so he helped them.

Even if someone brings this up, he has ample reason to refute it; at most, he's just morally flawed.

As for the rest, Wei Guangde really didn't know what serious crime he had committed.

"That won't do. Who knows what kind of mudslinging they'll do?"

Seeing that Wei Guangde didn't take it seriously, Zhang Ke became a little anxious and spoke up.

"Actually, he's probably just fabricating charges, but it doesn't matter much, as long as it still depends on the palace."

I think he might be after the position in the Ministry of Personnel, but he's also testing the Emperor's attitude.

My position ultimately depends on the will of the person in the palace. If they truly do not want me to continue as Grand Secretary, this power struggle will not benefit me.

However, I think it's good to let him test the waters; at least I'll have a better understanding of the situation.

Wei Guangde spoke up.

Let him find an opportunity to test the waters himself; if the emperor finds out, that would be disastrous.

Trying to guess the emperor's thoughts is a serious taboo.

If Zhang Siwei helps to test the waters, then there will be no such concerns.

"Let's remain still amidst all changes."

Wei Guangde made the final decision, telling them not to take any action.

However, if a memorial impeaching him is submitted tomorrow, the Nine Ministers will naturally know what to do at the meeting.

Wei Guangde did not recommend anyone, as he was still in Shandong and had not yet entered the court, so he did not say anything.

"As long as we can't do what he wants, that's fine."

Wei Guangde added another sentence when he saw the person off at the mansion.

After everyone left, Wei Guangde was still planning his arrangements on his way back to the backyard.

If we let them take action now, Zhang Siwei will receive news in a few days, and at that time, he might have some doubts.

After thinking it over, Wei Guangde shook his head. It was best not to cause any more trouble at this moment.

When the year-end comes, we'll launch an attack, sending Zhang Siwei straight back to his hometown, and then we'll bring Yu Youding into the cabinet.

However, Wei Guangde was unsure whether his former ally Shen Shixing and Yu Youding, who nominally sided with him, would actually listen to him.

After all, these two were from the same cohort and both achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations.

One top scholar, one third-place scholar, and who was the second-place scholar again?

Oh, right, it was Wang Xijue. He even studied under me and was a supporter of Zhang Juzheng back then.

However, his attitude during the incident of seizing the opportunity to mourn was too tough, which displeased Zhang Juzheng and led to his exclusion and retirement.

People like this will rise again sooner or later.

Wei Guangde understood this perfectly, but he didn't intend to use it.

After all, once people arrive, they might end up with Shen Shixing.

Wei Guangde is now also not entirely at ease with Shen Shixing and is wary of him at every turn. (End of Chapter)