prosperous age

"Last year, His Majesty issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites, instructing them to determine the location of His Mausoleum as soon as possible so that the Ministry of Works could expedite its construction."

After the Ministry of Rites sent people to survey the area, they determined the preliminary location of the foothills of Lantau Island and reported it to the emperor, hoping that the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works would be involved as soon as possible.

Shen Shixing began to speak, while Wei Guangde merely nodded slightly.

Pre-constructing a mausoleum during one's lifetime was a common practice among ancient emperors, allowing them to "move into the tomb with their coffin" directly after their death.

According to the "Veritable Records of Emperor Shenzong of Ming", in the first month of the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, Emperor Shenzong, who was only 21 years old, had already begun to pay attention to his own affairs after his death and announced the idea of ​​building a mausoleum in the cabinet.

Choosing the right location has always been the most important task in building tombs and mausoleums.

After the Jingnan Rebellion, the power center of the Ming Empire shifted from Jiangnan to Beijing.

Emperor Chengzu of Ming also abandoned his idea of ​​being buried in Nanjing to accompany Emperor Taizu, and instead chose Tianshou Mountain nearby.

Thus, the Tianshou Mountain area in Beijing became the final resting place for the tomb of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Successive emperors followed in the footsteps of Emperor Chengzu and successively settled their burial sites here.

As a result, the Tianshou Mountain area became the exclusive mausoleum area for the Ming Dynasty imperial family. After Emperor Shenzong of Ming died, he naturally followed his ancestors to be buried here.

Tianshou Mountain is a mountain located on Laibao Road in Changping District, Beijing. It was originally called Huangtu Mountain.

After Emperor Taizu of Ming, Zhu Yuanzhang, established the system of joint burial of emperors and empresses, Emperor Chengzu of Ming, Zhu Di, selected a mausoleum site for Empress Xu in the seventh year of Yongle and designated this site as his own mausoleum. He then renamed Huangtushan to Tianshoushan.

The first imperial mausoleum of the Ming Tombs, Changling, was built here. The mausoleum area successively housed imperial mausoleums such as Changling, Xianling, Jingling, and Yuling. The four mausoleums are arranged in a "Y" shape with Changling as the apex.

Since the previous emperors already had their mausoleums, the location that Emperor Wanli needed to find was simply to follow the existing ones.

Now that the Ministry of Rites has made a preliminary site selection, Wei Guangde doesn't think it's a big deal.

After Shen Shixing finished speaking, he smiled and said, "Since His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter and has issued an edict to the Cabinet, we should naturally get on with it as soon as possible."

I think I should lead a team to conduct an on-site inspection in February. If there are no problems, I will report back to the Qianqing Palace.

These were all matters that the imperial court had long established procedures for. Back in the first year of the Longqing reign, because the Longqing Emperor ascended the throne late, he quickly issued an edict to construct the mausoleum at the beginning of the year.

Xu Jie was in charge of this matter at the time, but Emperor Longqing thought the time was too short, and by the time he died, the mausoleum was only more than half completed.

In the end, the Ministry of Works mobilized tens of thousands of craftsmen to carry out emergency repairs and managed to move the body into the mausoleum on schedule. Afterwards, Empress Xiaoyi Li was moved into the mausoleum, which is now the Ming Zhaoling Mausoleum.

However, the Ming Zhaoling Mausoleum is still not completed, and has not even been sealed off, because Empress Dowager Chen and Empress Dowager Li will also be buried in Zhaoling after their deaths.

For the Ming Dynasty cabinet, building a mausoleum for the emperor was a major undertaking, and it was almost always personally overseen by the then-chief minister. Wei Guangde was no exception.

If he didn't take on this task at this time, the news might reach the Qianqing Palace and cause Emperor Wanli to have some reservations.

"Who from the cabinet accompanied him?"

Shen Shixing added.

Wei Guangde looked at the group and then said, "I think Ru Mo and Zhong Bo should stay in the cabinet, and I will take Bing Zhong and Wei Zhen to Lantau Island."

Wei Guangde's intention was to leave Shen Shixing and Wang Jiaping in the cabinet to handle government affairs, while he would take Yu Youding and Xu Guo there.

As I've said, this is the top priority for the cabinet right now, and the fact that three out of the five cabinet ministers went there at once shows that they've made a big show of it.

That is, to value it.

"By the way, has the Ministry of War sent any more battle reports?"

With the arrangements made, everyone else nodded in agreement. Wei Guangde then inquired about other important matters in the court.

"The Ministry of War did not report this, but the Ministry of Revenue did issue a document regarding the provision of grain and provisions to Mongolia."

Shen Shixing began to introduce.

"Nothing went wrong, right?"

When Wei Guangde saw Zhang Xueyan a couple of days ago, he didn't mention this matter, so he knew what was going on.

However, I still asked a question.

"They reported the grain reserves in Tongzhou and Shanxi, and I have forwarded it to the Ministry of War to inquire when the grain from Southeast Asia will arrive."

Presumably, the Ministry of War has also issued a document urging the South China Sea Fleet to go.

Shen Shixing immediately replied, "Generally speaking, it is consistent with the figures previously reported by the Ministry of Revenue. As long as the South China Sea Fleet can transport the grain before March, the capital will be safe."

Because of the large population in the vicinity of the capital, the Ming court set a warning line at a very early stage to ensure that the capital region could consume enough grain for half a year. Once the grain supply in the capital fell below the standard for half a year, the court would be in a panic.

Why? Because a lot of food is needed.

Moreover, although the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has greatly improved north-south freight transport, it is also subject to seasonal navigation.

Large-scale transportation of grain relied on grain barges, but these barges could only make one trip a year.

Therefore, a six-month food safety threshold is crucial; otherwise, things could easily go wrong and lead to disaster.

"It shouldn't be a big problem."

Wei Guangde estimated that even if the South China Sea Fleet could not transport grain to Tianjin within three months, the grain supply in the capital could be maintained until the end of the year. However, such a grain reserve would make the Ministry of Revenue and the imperial court uneasy.

The grain reserves in Beijing are sufficient to supply the capital for about two years, which keeps the imperial court from panicking.

Now that Wei Guangde has arrived at the cabinet, he will naturally not leave.

Later, because there weren't many memorials, Wei Guangde had Lu Bu deliver them all to his office.

Each of the five cabinet ministers received several copies and reviewed the draft proposals on the spot.

None of them were important memorials; everyone chatted and laughed while processing the documents.

However, amidst the banter, Xu Guo steered the conversation to the ongoing Aoshan Lantern Festival.

Undoubtedly, Wei Guangde and his group noticed that while the Aoshan Lantern Festival, which Zhang Jing was in charge of, was indeed eye-opening, everyone also keenly observed the enormous expense involved.

"I heard His Majesty is very satisfied."

When Xu Guo brought up this matter, Wei Guangde also felt somewhat helpless.

It's already like this, why didn't you do something earlier?

If the cabinet had known at the end of last year that Zhang Jing was up to such a big deal, they should have stepped in to stop him.

However, the Ministry of Works did not report it at the time, but the matter was still carried out.

Wei Guangde could only say this in response.

"Your Excellency, this year has already turned out like this, but what about next year?"
This expenditure was enormous; if we do not learn from this experience, it could be detrimental to the imperial treasury.

Xu Guo still warned.

Wei Guangde already has ideas for next year's Aoshan Lantern Festival. Although it will still be hosted by the imperial court, he has made up his mind to involve the public and make it even bigger.

Therefore, the imperial court will certainly intervene.

However, Wei Guangde does not plan to tell them about this for the time being.

How to say?
Does this mean the scale will be larger next year, or something else?

While it may reassure people to say things in advance, it also means you can't be too careful about someone deliberately causing trouble.

When Wei Guangde returned to his residence in the afternoon, he received news that after the morning and evening court assemblies, all the officials in the court were discussing the Aoshan Lantern Festival.

However, so far, there has been no word of anyone intending to impeach someone on this matter.

It's the Lunar New Year, so I imagine the censor is just writing Zhang Jing's matter down in his little notebook right now, and will bring it up later along with other matters.

Perhaps, what's more important is to see what the Ministry of Revenue says in the end-of-month accounts of the inner court.

If the Ministry of Revenue were to accept the extra expenses incurred because of the Aoshan Lantern Festival, it might be impeached along with Zhang Xueyan.

That very evening, Yang Keli visited Li Zhi's residence again, this time with a larger group, including Jiang Dongzhi and others. "Although the court has not yet officially opened, memorials can still be submitted. I think we don't need to wait until the 21st; we can submit them tomorrow."

Yang Keli came here because he couldn't wait to take out the memorial.

"Today, everyone in the court is still talking about the Aoshan Lantern Festival."

Jiang Dongzhi spoke up.

"If that matter really gets out of hand, it'll probably be after the end of the month."

I know several people around me who are considering impeaching the Ministry of Revenue if the inner court orders them to cover the deficit at the end of the month.

Yang Ke immediately said, "Therefore, if we submit the memorial first, impeaching the old case of the Prince of Liao, we will immediately divert the attention of all the officials."

"I'm worried that if things drag on, it might get mixed up with that scumbag Zhang Jing's business, which would be troublesome."

Even though some of them have sided with Zhang Jing, in front of their colleagues, regardless of their status, they all show disdain for eunuchs.

"Therefore, we should try our best to persuade our colleagues not to dwell too much on the Aoshan Lantern Festival, but to focus on Zhang Jiangling's case and use the old case of the Liao King to overthrow his banner."

Jiang Dongzhi spoke up at this moment.

In fact, this was also Li Zhi's idea. In any case, Zhang Jing and their mentor Zhang Siwei had a deep connection.

The original intention was to overthrow Zhang Juzheng, but if Zhang Jing is also targeted in the end, it will definitely be a losing proposition.

Their goal was to focus the censors' firepower on Zhang Juzheng and ignore Zhang Jing.

At worst, he would say, "This petty person is not fit for important tasks," and then leave Zhang Jing aside.

Essentially, eunuchs were there to amuse the emperor; without the emperor's approval, they couldn't do anything.

Now it depends on what everyone chooses in their hearts: whether to focus on Zhang Juzheng or to regard Zhang Jing as the same as him.

"Let's get started and get to the Liao King case first."

I wrote to Zhao Yongxian and others before the new year. They were dismissed because they offended Zhang Juzheng, and I expect they will soon submit a memorial to impeach him.

In this way, if we work together, both inside and outside the capital, we will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Li Zhi spoke first.

"Yeah, it works."

"Yes, we need to mobilize not only our colleagues in Beijing, but also our colleagues outside Beijing."

The others in the room nodded and clapped, for nothing had the greatest impact on officials than the court proceedings.

Only by involving as many officials as possible in submitting memorials and building momentum will more people follow.

Even those who originally didn't want to participate will be dragged into it.

Once memorials flood the palace like a whirlwind, even the emperor would have to think twice before protecting them.

Moreover, Emperor Wanli seemed to have long harbored some dissatisfaction with Zhang Juzheng, so he would inevitably go along with it.

Ultimately, it wasn't that Emperor Wanli didn't want to take action against Zhang Juzheng, but rather that he lacked the right opportunity.

Impeachments by a few individual censors alone were not enough to make Emperor Wanli make a decision.

Once the emperor makes a statement, unless the evidence is conclusive, failing to convict him can greatly damage the emperor's reputation.

Zhang Juzheng still had many supporters in the court, and because of his policies, most officials in the court had implemented them to some extent.

If it weren't for Zhang Juzheng's own fault, others would worry about becoming the final scapegoat.

Many people don't actually want to dredge up old grievances; they've already moved on, and besides, Zhang Juzheng is no longer around.

If Zhang Juzheng's policies were wrong, it's good to correct them now.

So, early on the morning of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Yang Keli went to the Censorate and submitted his impeachment memorial to the minister.

Chen Zi naturally came to the yamen today. He had calculated that Yang Keli's memorial would be submitted either today or in five days.

According to the rules of the Censorate, memorials must first pass through its review before being sent to the palace.

Alternatively, one could make it clear that the process would be handled through the Ministry of Justice.

However, doing so would offend the Censorate and be even more detrimental to one's future career.

Impeaching Zhang Juzheng was for the sake of his career, so naturally he didn't want to cause any trouble or offend other colleagues.

Zhang Juzheng was dead; if he were alive, Yang Keli would not dare to sue him.

"The Liao King case has been going on for over ten years."

After reading the memorial, Chen Kai hesitated and said to Yang Keli, "Is there any evidence for this matter? If you report it based on hearsay, it will be detrimental to your future."

"Your Excellency, I have heard that the case of the Prince of Liao was a miscarriage of justice, fabricated by the former Grand Secretary Zhang."

Later, people were sent to investigate. Although there was no conclusive evidence, it was indeed rumored in Jingzhou that the King of Liao had killed Zhang Xiangong's grandfather, and that Zhang Xiangong, as a cabinet minister, had fabricated a case to wrongfully kill the King of Liao.

At this point, I am not afraid of being investigated, and according to regulations, I should be investigated.

Yang Keli was naturally unafraid of Chen Ti's suspicions, so he immediately replied.

"Regarding the case from the Longqing era, the memorial can be submitted. Have you reviewed the files of the Liaowang case before?"

Chen Zi continued to ask.

“I have already reviewed it, and there are indeed some doubts, especially since the Imperial Envoy and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Hong Chaoxuan, and the Deputy Envoy, Shi Duchen, had differing opinions on the case.”

Afterwards, Shi Duchen's career progressed smoothly, while Hong Chaoxuan was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown for some reason. The inside story behind this is worth investigating.

Moreover, before Zhang died of illness last year, Hong Chaoxuan was murdered in prison in Fujian.

A former high-ranking official of the third rank in the imperial court died so mysteriously in prison; the court should investigate this thoroughly.

Yang Ke immediately said.

He did catch one thing right: Shih Tu-chen's promotion.

Since handling the case of the Prince of Liao, Shi Duchen, as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Huguang, rose to the position of Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong in just three years. During this period, he was successively promoted to Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangxi, Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and Right Provincial Administration Commissioner.

In the first year of the Wanli reign, he even served as the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, a position he held for only four years.

Such a rapid promotion would be impossible without someone in the imperial court offering assistance.

As for Hong Chaoxuan, he was naturally dismissed from office soon afterward, and died in a Fujian prison last year.

Actually, the most important thing here is Hong Chaoxuan's death.

When a person dies, many things can only be guessed.

They said that Zhang Juzheng had someone frame him, and since no one could stand up to refute it.

Since both sides are gone, the survivors can say whatever they want.

As for Hong Chaoxuan's death, the shooting of Lao Kan, the then governor of Fujian, became evidence of his reliance on Zhang Juzheng.

Of course, Lao Kan's fate has long since changed, and he has escaped the storm that could have led to his dismissal.

Chen Kai glanced at Yang Keli, nodded slightly, and said, "I understand."

After Yang Keli left, he immediately wrote a note and had it delivered to Wei Guangde.

This time, the investigation into the Liao King case has no evidence, only rumors, and most importantly, all the key parties involved are gone.

Whether it's Zhang Juzheng, Hong Chaoxuan, or Shi Duchen, all three are gone. How can the case be investigated under these circumstances?
They insisted that Zhang Juzheng instigated Shi Duchen, and that Hong Chaoxuan was retaliated against for refusing to side with the rebels, but they had no way to defend themselves; some of the facts were simply too suspicious. (End of Chapter)