prosperous age

The Ming army remained on high alert on the city walls, not daring to relax their vigilance in the slightest.

"General, should we send someone out of the west gate to circle around and gather information about the Japanese pirates?"

This was the second day since the Japanese pirates had suspended their attack on the city. If it weren't for the piles of corpses under the city walls and the faint silhouettes of the Japanese pirates in the distant mountains, it would seem as if all was well.

The Ming army took turns to garrison the city wall in formations, and then changed shifts to rest when their shifts were up.

The continuous days of fierce fighting were exhausting, and although they had rested for a day, the soldiers still looked tired.

It seems like I won't recover without a few days of rest.

However, constantly keeping the soldiers on guard is not the best approach.

If the soldiers could rest in the houses where the Japanese lived, they would be able to get a better rest.

However, the threat from the Japanese army outside the city remained. The previous all-night attack was suddenly halted, forcing them to be on high alert and deal with the situation carefully. It was even more exhausting than dealing with their attack on the city.

"Should we send people out of the city to scout?"

Liu Ting stood on the city wall, pondering, "That day, at the end, I used the Great General Cannon to bombard a group of people on the other side, suspecting they might be high-ranking Japanese soldiers."

However, it's not entirely certain; we'll have to wait for intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to find out.

If they had been able to kill the pirate leader back then, perhaps the current situation would make sense.

Liu Ting spent the entire afternoon on the city wall yesterday, and rushed over again this morning to check on the situation, but he still had yesterday's shelling on his mind.

This may be the only explanation.

Unfortunately, the shelling did not achieve the effect he expected.

He could tell from the footage that the person killed was definitely not the leader of the Japanese pirates, but perhaps just an important leader.

"Order the scouts to offer a reward of three times the compensation, and select brave warriors to go out of the city to scout out the movements of the Japanese army."

Finally, Liu Ting made a decision: to use money to lure scouts out of the city to gather information.

Now trapped in the city, he has no clue about the movements of the Japanese pirates on the other side, which makes him feel that he is out of control of the situation.

However, given the current situation, no one is willing to take on such a life-threatening mission.

After all, they could see the Japanese pirates patrolling in the distance from the city walls.

"Let them slip out through the east gate at night, take a walk around and see what the Japanese pirates are up to."

Also, contact the cavalry outside the city and provide them with assistance.

Liu Ting didn't forget that he had also sent out his cavalry battalion in the end, originally intending to harass the city when the Japanese pirates attacked.

Unfortunately, to everyone's surprise, the Japanese pirates retreated on their own after a barrage of cannon fire.

He didn't know if the nearly one thousand cavalrymen had regrouped yet. This was no small force, so he didn't plan to recall them and instead let them remain hidden outside the city.

If the Japanese pirates attack the city again, the cavalry can maneuver outside the city and launch a surprise attack on the attacking pirates from the rear.

After arranging military affairs outside the city, Liu Ting noticed that it was almost noon, so he led his men down from the city wall and returned to the temporary garrison headquarters to rest.

After all, it was windy and too cold on the city wall.

On that very day, Wei Guangde finally finished his work in the capital and left the city for Tangshan with his family in a carriage.

Tangshan is a hundred miles from the capital, and it would take three hours to travel there by horse-drawn carriage at the fastest speed.

The grand court assembly, the ladies of the court entering the palace to offer congratulations, and other New Year activities were all concentrated on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Wei Guangde was on duty in the cabinet on the second day of the Lunar New Year, so he didn't set off until the third day.

Today is the New Year's Day holiday. Because there are many people in the cabinet, Wei Guangde will have a full six days off. He doesn't plan to return to the capital and intends to come back the day before he enters the cabinet.

The procession consisted of more than ten carriages and a cavalry of thirty people. After all, he was the Grand Secretary, so the entourage was quite impressive.

However, since the beginning of winter, such convoys have frequently appeared on this official road, but they don't attract much attention.

In fact, just before and after Wei Guangde's team, there were other convoys of similar size heading towards Tangshan.

Wei Guangde was no fool. In addition to buying a large hot spring to build a villa, he also bought a piece of land on the outskirts connected to three springs and built a hot spring inn for wealthy merchants from the capital to come and soak in the hot springs.

After all, ancient books describe the many benefits of soaking in hot springs, and the imperial family had a hot spring palace there, while important officials and nobles also had villas there. There were many people who wanted to curry favor with them.

It can be said that the hot spring inn is doing very well. Except for the summer when there are fewer people, it is always packed with guests.

Wei Guangde had carefully planned the timing for this trip.

At the current pace, we should be able to reach Tangshan Villa later.

The wheels rolled over the dirt road, causing frequent bumps, which was definitely not a good experience for people in a hurry.

However, Wei Guangde was someone who, although he only had a superficial understanding of many things from later generations, still knew the method of shock absorption.

The carriage he and his wife rode in was a shock-absorbing carriage that he had meticulously designed.

They separated the carriage from the car body and installed the first-generation springs, which cost a huge amount of money, between the two, imitating the style of a sofa.

This is a simple spring, and even with the advanced technology of the Ming Dynasty, it took a huge amount of effort to produce a sufficient quantity.

With his family's wealth, this was the only car they could afford.

Previously, carriages were simply fitted with carriages directly on the vehicle, at most covered with thick wool blankets.

Wei Guangde's shock-absorbing carriage was undoubtedly the most ingenious means of transportation of that era.

Of course, he also had Western four-wheeled carriages copied.

In the past, the Chinese did not think in that direction, mainly because two-wheeled carriages were simple in structure and easy to operate.

However, as the delegation to Europe brought back many things, including Western four-wheeled carriages, their steering shafts naturally caught the attention of the Ministry of Works.

Relatively speaking, four-wheeled carriages are superior to two-wheeled carriages in China in terms of load-bearing capacity.

However, there were four-wheeled carriages in the early days, but because the maneuverability could not be solved, they were eventually abandoned and various two-wheeled carriages were designed instead.

After absorbing Western steering shaft technology, the Ministry of Industry naturally attempted to imitate it, and the results were quite good.

However, at this time, the four-wheeled carriages manufactured by this new technology were mainly used for the Ministry of War's supply transport. The newly built war chariots were also equipped with steering shafts to improve the vehicles' mobility.

It can be said that the achievements of the mission to Europe led by Wei Guangde have already been reflected in the Ming Dynasty court.

However, Wei Guangde was still riding in a two-wheeled carriage at this moment, since he had only been absorbing this technology for a short time and it was not yet mature enough.

Wei Guangde lay in the carriage for a while, feeling a bit stiff. Although the carriage was warm, the space was limited.

I casually lifted the curtain and glanced outside. The convoy was already on the mountain road, and they had entered the outer reaches of the Yanshan Mountains.

"What time is it?"

Madam Xu Jianglan leaned against the other side and asked weakly.

"It should be past Shen Shi (3-5 PM) soon, or maybe even You Shi (5-7 PM)."

Wei Guangde said casually.

These two expensive carriages could only be used by the master and mistress of the Wei family; no one else was qualified to ride in them.

"Oh, that will take about an hour."

Xu Jianglan said, "If I hadn't needed to go to the palace to see the Empress Dowager and the Empress the day before yesterday, I really wouldn't have wanted to come back. It's more comfortable to stay in the villa this time of year."

Wei Guangde's villa has hot spring water piped into multiple rooms, including both indoor and outdoor hot spring pools. Most importantly, the heated pottery pipes can warm the rooms, making them cozy and comfortable, even better than a greenhouse.

While Wei Guangde was vacationing at the hot spring villa, in the capital, at the home of Imperial Censor Yang Sizhi, he was also receiving a colleague. Yang Sizhi was a member of the Yang clan of Kaifeng, and could be considered a family with three Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations). His elder brother, Yang Shining, passed the Jinshi examination in the second year of the Longqing reign, and he and his brother, Yang Shixin, also passed it in the second year of the Wanli reign. Although their rankings were not high, the fact that three members of the family were serving in the court at the same time was enough to make the Yang family a prominent family in Kaifeng.

Of course, there are also many prominent families in Kaifeng that have produced Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), such as the Wang family and the Guo family, and some of them have served in the imperial court.

The bond between fellow townsmen naturally led to mutual assistance, which made Yang Sizhi, the censor, very influential in the court.

"Ziyu, please sit down and try this tea. It's rock tea sent by my fellow Fujianese. I've heard that Grand Secretary Wei praised it highly."

Wei Guangde sent people to Fujian to find Da Hong Pao tea, which took a lot of effort. In the process, he also promoted the local rock tea to the imperial court. Many officials purchased rock tea and sent it to the capital as gifts when they went out to visit others.

Yang Sizhi received quite a lot, which he used to entertain his guests.

The person in front of him was his junior, Yang Keli, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fifth year of the Wanli reign. He was from Kaifeng, Henan, while Yang Keli was from Nanruyang City. Since they were from the same hometown, they naturally became closer.

"I am here today because I have something on my mind and I have to see you, elder brother, for advice."

Yang Keli looked troubled, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Hehe, please speak freely."

Yang Si knew that Yang Keli was just putting on an act, and smiled as he spoke.

Everyone's in the Censorate, we all know each other, who are you trying to fool with this little act?

"Brother, please take a look at this."

Yang Keli took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to Yang Sizhi with both hands.

"Memorial to the throne."

Upon seeing the item, Yang Sizhi merely frowned, knowing that Yang Keli must have set his sights on a target and intended to impeach him.

We're all censors; this is our job.

I guessed that Yang Keli was a little unsure whether to pass it up or down, so I sent it to myself first, asking for his opinion and advice.

Naturally, Yang Sizhi didn't take it seriously and took it to read it.

"hiss"

However, a moment later, Yang Sizhi's expression changed slightly, and he even gasped.

It's not that the person being impeached is anything special; he's just a dead man. So what if you offend him during the impeachment?

However, Yang Sizhi was not entirely sure about the charges against him in the impeachment.

"Ziyu, is there any real evidence to support what is said in this memorial?"
As you know, I had impeached him before, but it didn't work out and I was even reprimanded.

Later, Li Zhi and Jiang Dongzhi also submitted memorials impeaching him, and you know the result.

Impeaching Zhang Jiangling wouldn't normally be a big deal, but since you've involved members of the imperial family, things get complicated.

Yang Sizhi stared at Yang Keli and said.

"However, I have heard rumors that the Zhang family and the deposed prince had a lot of entanglements, especially the death of Zhang Jiangling's grandfather, which was rumored to have been caused by the Liao prince forcibly drinking alcohol."

Therefore, it is unlikely that he was entirely innocent in the matter of the Liao King's deposition.

As for concrete evidence, if I had it, I would have submitted it to the emperor long ago.

Upon hearing Yang Keli's words, Yang Sizhi understood; it was still a story fabricated under the pretext of "reporting rumors."

Of course, censors can't just make up stories arbitrarily; they have to have some basis in reality. Otherwise, if it's obviously fake, they'll be criticized and it will affect their careers.

Yang Sizhi was unaware of the rumors circulating in Jiangling, but he believed that Yang Keli wouldn't spread them carelessly.

Since it's just hearsay, there must be some truth to it. The job of the censors is to turn hearsay into stories and then present them to the court.

"Don't rush to hand this over; we need to think about it carefully."

Not only do we need to verify the rumors, but we also need to check the records kept by the Censorate from that time.

Yang Sizhi spoke up.

The matter at the Liao Prince's Palace was handled by an imperial envoy. At that time, the Liao Prince also erected a large banner in the palace. The local officials' handling of the matter can be considered correct.

If there is any truth to it, it's that the King of Liao was too foolish to have created that place.

"Moreover, it is the New Year now, and most officials in the court are on holiday. If it is submitted, the cabinet will most likely just issue a draft for a thorough investigation."

Yang Sizhi continued.

"I want to deliver it directly to the Emperor through other means."

However, at this moment, Yang Keli suddenly spoke up.

"You mean using connections over there? You have to be careful. That person is not currently in court, and although he holds a high position in front of the emperor, he is not a senior eunuch in the palace, and his rank is not high enough to be considered important."

Yang Sizhi immediately guessed Yang Keli's plan and hesitated.

The relationship between Zhang Siwei and Zhang Jing was not exactly a secret in the imperial court.

Although the censors were of low rank, rank did not equate to power.

In fact, both Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde valued the censorate highly, truly representing the power of those in lowly positions.

They can't accomplish anything, but they can definitely cause trouble.

Back then, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng schemed against each other quite a bit in order to control the Censorate.

If it weren't for Chen Kai's previous upright and incorruptible conduct, and his rarity of socializing with fellow townsmen, Zhang Juzheng would never have promoted him.

I would rather have someone with slightly less ability take over the Censorate than let someone from Jiangxi take on this job.

Even now, Wei Guangde and Chen Kai keep their interactions very secret, as they are unwilling to let the emperor discover them.

Especially after Emperor Wanli had shown his dislike for Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde was always worried that it was because Zhang Juzheng's immense power and monopolistic control had displeased the emperor.

He had no idea that Zhang Jing had actually brought Gao Gong's "Last Words on His Sickbed" into the palace and shown it to the Wanli Emperor.

Emperor Wanli actually believed the accusations, especially the part about Zhang Juzheng's affair with Empress Dowager Li, which made him hate Zhang Juzheng to the core.

Wei Guangde deliberately feigned weakness in front of the emperor, but he could not fool the officials.

After all, he is the Grand Secretary; who would look down on him?

The relationship between him, the Grand Secretary, and Zhang Siwei, the former Second Grand Secretary, was actually a well-known fact in the court and was not a secret at all.

Furthermore, truly astute individuals have noticed that in the later years of Zhang Juzheng's reign, he had actually begun to exclude Zhang Siwei; otherwise, he would not have recommended Pan Sheng for a cabinet position.

It is obvious that Zhang Siwei outwardly submits to Zhang Juzheng, but in reality he has secretly formed his own faction.

The three cabinet members at the time actually represented three different factions.

"Besides, even if we punish him, what good will it do besides gaining some reputation?"

Yang Sizhi continued.

"But about what happened last time, the relationship between our Grand Secretary and that Zhang is also somewhat unclear."

"Brother, have you forgotten? There were rumors that His Majesty dislikes Zhang Jiangling."

"We'll have to wait until that person is reinstated." (End of Chapter)