prosperous age

Chapter 978 1067 Zhang Lian’s Remaining Department

"bang bang bang"

The clear sound of cannons could be heard from the Wenhua Palace. The eunuchs and servants waiting outside were no longer surprised at this time, and they all stayed in their positions quietly.

When the first cannon was fired, they rushed into the Wenhua Hall nervously to see what happened.

But when they saw that the little emperor Wei Guangde was playing with firecrackers, they exited the palace.

Yes, now it's not just Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun, almost everyone regards what they are playing as a firecracker.

Thinking about it, His Majesty's birthday is tomorrow, so if the emperor likes it, let him do it. If the master is happy, their life will be easier.

However, most of the eunuchs and chamberlains didn't take it to heart, but that didn't mean that no one noticed.

While people were paying attention, several chamberlains hurriedly left the Wenhua Palace and trotted away in different directions.

In the Ritual Supervisor, Feng Bao was reviewing red memorials at this time, and soon learned about the scene that happened in the Wenhua Hall from the young chamberlain.

"What, you said that Mr. Wei Ge took some cannon gadgets to set off a firecracker for His Majesty?"

As he spoke, Feng Bao already frowned.

Ordinarily, as the little emperor's companion, he should be like other eunuchs who serve the emperor, trying to find some good things to offer to the emperor, so as to please His Majesty the Emperor.

However, Feng Bao relied on Empress Dowager Li to ascend to the throne. At the same time, he also experienced the consequences of Teng Xiang, Meng Chong and others trying to please Emperor Longqing.

Although Teng Xiang died of old age, others were more or less implicated and had a bad reputation.

Not only the outer court said this about them, but in the palace, the queen mothers of the two palaces had nothing good to say about these eunuchs who had tried their best to please the emperor and searched for beauties for the emperor.

Feng Bao knew very well how Emperor Longqing died. Wasn't it because he was too indulgent that he died so early?

Although in fact, Emperor Longqing was the longest-lived among the sons of Emperor Jiajing, it is a pity that no one noticed this.

But because Emperor Longqing did like women, beautiful women, his death was considered by everyone to be the result of excessive indulgence.

Having learned from the past, Feng Bao paid special attention to cherishing feathers, which Zhang Juzheng often reminded him.

They can do some shameful things in private, but in front of the emperor, he must position himself correctly.

If the emperor made a mistake, he had to persuade him. If he couldn't persuade him, he should tell the Empress Dowager Li. In any case, he would be packaging himself into the role of a eunuch who abides by his duties.

His harshness towards the emperor did not seem to matter in the eyes of Empress Dowager Li. Instead, she believed that he was loyal. She was worried that the young emperor would go astray, so she always followed the strict teacher's standards without worrying that the emperor would be dissatisfied with him.

For such a minister, Queen Mother Li naturally had to protect him. Even if some people in the government and the public criticized Feng Bao for being greedy for money, in the eyes of Queen Mother Li, it was not a big deal.

"Yes, I heard that it was a longevity gift from Mr. Wei Ge to His Majesty, the latest gunboat model presented by the Nanhai Navy.

The cannon they fired was on the model. It could fire like a real cannon and could also shoot out the shells.

Now the emperor is having a lot of fun in the Wenhua Palace. Every time he fires up, it's like setting off a firecracker outside. "

The young chamberlain bowed quickly and replied.

"There are no lectures in the Wenhua Hall today?"

Feng Bao asked again.

"No, but at the beginning Wei Guangde randomly checked what the emperor had studied before, and asked the emperor to memorize the three principles and eight items, and then expressed his understanding.

Afterwards, Wei Guangde praised the emperor and said that the emperor should apply the principles learned in the book in his words and deeds, and then..."

The little chamberlain briefly told Feng Bao the whole process that happened in the Wenhua Palace today. Feng Bao thought about it and then said: "You go back first. The whole family knows what happened. Just wait and see over there."

After the others left, Feng Bao thought for a moment, but still did not get up and go to Ciqing Palace to report to the two empress dowagers.

In his opinion, since it was Wei Guangde's invention, even if he complained to the Queen Mother, Wei Guangde would not be harmed.

What's more, although the gap between him and Wei Guangde is large and difficult to bridge, it has not reached the level of fighting to the death. At least they have maintained a superficial harmony. There is absolutely no need to stalemate the relationship over this trivial matter.

Zhang Juzheng seemed to be very satisfied with his cooperation with Wei Guangde in the cabinet.

"Forget it, tomorrow is the emperor's birthday, let him have a happy day."

Feng Bao thought in his mind, so he continued to read the memorial.

On the cabinet side, Zhang Juzheng also received the news while on duty.

He had a good relationship with Feng Bao, and everyone in the palace knew it, so there was almost no disadvantage in letting his subordinates bribe some servants in the palace to find out information.

No one wants to offend the current chief minister, let alone the chief minister who has a good relationship with their boss.

If the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao is tense, they will also consider taking sides.

But now, there is absolutely no need to worry about this.

Zhang Juzheng did not dare to reach out to other palaces in the palace, but the cabinet and Wenhua Palace were different. He had always paid great attention to the education of the little emperor.

In fact, although the recommended lecturer has been screened by the Ministry of Rites, he still has to nod his head and has some interference in the content of the lecture.

It can be said that all the courses of Emperor Wanli were arranged by Zhang Juzheng behind the scenes.

"This kind loan, forget it if you don't teach His Majesty well, then he builds this model of a gunboat and sets off firecrackers in the Wenhua Hall."

Zhang Juzheng murmured in his mouth and then shook his head. He was thinking about the same thing as Feng Bao.

His Majesty's birthday was tomorrow, and he didn't want to offend the little emperor, so he just pretended that he didn't know.

It was almost noon, today's lectures were over, and Wei Guangde had not assigned any homework.

"Your Majesty, go back and copy the book again to deepen your memory and understanding."

"Yes, Master Wei."

The little emperor immediately nodded and agreed.

Compared with "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius", both of which have more than 100,000 words, "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" have much fewer words, especially "The Great Learning" only has more than a thousand words, so copying "The Great Learning" is more difficult than copying other books. Simple.

Moreover, the homework was not handed in tomorrow, but had to wait ten days and a half until Wei Guangde's next class, so he had plenty of time to copy the books.

In fact, Wei Guangde's homework has always been the least among the officials, so the little emperor agreed so happily.

After enjoying the banquet given by the palace in the side hall, Wei Guangde returned to the cabinet and continued to deal with the memorials on his desk.

The court will have a holiday for three days from tomorrow, but this holiday has little to do with their cabinet, the Ministry of War and other key offices, and they all have to work overtime.

It's just that I have to delay another half day tomorrow morning to attend the Longevity Festival pilgrimage ceremony, so these two days seem a bit busy.

"Sir, Master Liu, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, wants to see you."

Just when Wei Guangde was busy with official duties at his desk, Lu Bu quickly came in from the outside and whispered in his ear.

"Liu Shouyou, what is he doing here?"

Wei Guangde just whispered, and then said: "Ask him to come in."

These days, I think there should be news from unknown sources.

Not long after, Wei Guangde saw Liu Shouyou at the check-in room.

After saluting, Liu Shouyou quickly explained his intention to him.

"From this we can be sure that Zhang Lian, who was beheaded by Fujian and Guangdong, was not himself. He fled to Old Port with his remnants, and separated a piece of territory there to survive until his death last year." After Liu Shouyou finished telling the information in a low voice, he looked At Wei Guangde's reaction.

"This matter should be kept secret or not publicized."

Wei Guangde thought for a while and then said: "In addition, the people sent over there should be sent to the capital as soon as possible. You will first interrogate them personally to find out their true purpose."

"Mr. Wei Ge, if the rebels really want to surrender, what should they do?"

Liu Shouyou asked softly.

Judging from the information that Jinyiwei has found so far, the so-called remnants of the Feilong Kingdom are not having an easy time on Sumatra. The Bazhang Kingdom has been eyeing them. If it weren't for the Bazhang Kingdom, there would be a more powerful opponent, the Mata of East Java. In the Blue Kingdom, a fierce battle may have broken out long ago.

"Let's first determine their true intentions. Given their current situation, it seems to be a good thing if the Bazhang Kingdom can put more pressure on them."

Wei Guangde said casually.

It is also very dramatic to say that although the Feilong Kingdom had long planned to send representatives back to the Ming Dynasty to test the government's attitude, they were all frightened when they arrived. No one was willing to be such a representative.

When the representatives were finally selected and went to sea, they returned to the Ming Dynasty after all the hardships, but they did not dare to contact the government due to various concerns.

It can only be said that when the Ming Dynasty encircled and suppressed Zhang Lian's group of rebels, they made too much noise, and many of the captured rebels were publicly executed.

This was also a strategy adopted by the imperial court in order to appease the southeast region, which was to first deter the local scoundrels. Only by killing them and scaring them could the stability of the southeast region be guaranteed.

After all, he had fled overseas for many years, so even when he returned to the Ming Dynasty, he was hiding in Tibet, and his behavior was very suspicious. However, he was noticed by Jinyiwei's spies, and then he was secretly captured by Fujian Jinyiwei Qianhu.

After all, people went back with the help of Ming merchant ships that plied Southeast Asia, so they disembarked at Yuegang.

"In addition, Jinyiwei will also strengthen its spying operations in Southeast Asia. Has the intelligence from Malacca that I asked about last time been sent back?"

Wei Guangde asked again casually.

"Mr. Wei Ge, the news has been sent out. I think I have some clues and it will be sent back soon."

Liu Shouyou didn't dare to vouch for it. After all, the people sent out were in the name of businessmen. It was unknown whether they would settle there. Now he could only delay for a while.

"What about Myanmar? Last time you sent a note saying that Laos had been defeated. Is the news confirmed?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

"It has been confirmed that the Laos Xuanwei Division was indeed breached, so I was the one to break it."

Liu Shouyou quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered carefully.

"The official document from Yunnan was delivered to the capital two days ago. You should know it."

Wei Guangde said immediately.

Liu Shou answered the question, but his head hung down.

"Let the Yunnan side check whether the Yunnan governor knows about this matter, whether it is related to Myanmar, whether he was deceived or something."

Wei Guangde ordered.

"Yes, I will immediately send someone to investigate the matter."

Liu Shouyou answered quickly this time and immediately answered with cupped fists.

Just two days ago, Yunnan Chengxuan's political envoy reported to the Secretary, and requested three announcements and six consolations to report on their duties. All ministries said that everything was fine.

Well, the imperial court already knew that the southwest was in a state of chaos, and many Xuanwei divisions had been conquered by the Toungoo dynasty, but the Yunnan side was still safe and sound, which made Wei Guangde have to wonder whether the Yunnan side was covering the lid. , worried about being punished, but was indeed deceived.

"Have you sent the note from last time to the Governor's Mansion of the Right Army?"

When Liu Shouyou was saying goodbye and preparing to go out, Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

Liu Shouyou, who was standing at the door, immediately returned to the house and told him that the information had been sent to Li Chengliang.

"Go and do your work. If there is any news, please notify me in time."

Wei Guangde just said something.

Calculating the time, Li Chengliang should have figured out the situation in the southwest, but I don't know whether he will come here before the Longevity Festival or later.

After the others left, Wei Guangde sighed to the sky. It was inevitable to use troops against Myanmar. It was obvious that the situation there was out of control.

Although Wei Guangde seems to have been babbling, wanting to launch a war against this pair, in fact, through later generations, he naturally knows the cruelty of war, and he wonders how many good men of the Ming Dynasty will die in "foreign lands" because of this.

If the Toungoo dynasty in Myanmar could repent and surrender to the Ming Dynasty at this time, Wei Guangde would still choose to slowly transform it instead of directly using troops to encircle and suppress it.

He only remembered that a war broke out between Burma and the Qing Dynasty, but he did not know that there was actually a war during the Wanli period, and the scale was quite large.

Therefore, at this time, in Wei Guangde's heart, he felt as if the Ming-Burma War was caused by his thoughts, and it was inevitable that he felt guilty.

Not long after Liu Shouyou left, Lu Bu came in and reported that Tan Lun, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Li Chengliang, the left governor of the Right Army Governor's Mansion, had arrived.

"Invite them in."

Wei Guangde had to put down his memorial again and came out to greet him.

After the three of them sat down, Tan Lun handed Wei Guangde an official document, which was an official document from the Right Army Governor's Mansion intending to provoke people.

The current Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army no longer has the right to mobilize troops, and even personnel rights have been usurped by the Ministry of War.

Li Chengliang, the commander-in-chief of the right army and the left commander of the governor's office, had to go through the Ministry of War to give orders to the lower guard. The governor's office only had the responsibility of garrison.

"Has the Ministry of War verified it?"

Wei Guangde quickly read the official document and just looked at Tan Lun and asked.

"I've seen it, and I can implement it according to this strategy."

Tan Lun spoke out the Ministry of War's opinion, apparently agreeing with Li Chengliang's troop deployment plan.

"Okay, Commander Li, I'll follow your plan. After the festival, I'll send someone to supervise. You can set out to patrol the border later."

After Wei Guangde finished speaking to Li Chengliang, he turned to Tan Lun and said, "Brother Zili, when the time comes, the Ministry of War will allocate 100,000 taels of silver treasure to be taken to Governor Li as the starting silver. Isn't it a problem?"

"Already prepared."

Tan Lun smiled and replied, "It's just Jin Yiwei's information. Is it true and credible?"

Finally, Tan Lun put away his smile and said seriously.

"It should be true."

Wei Guangde sighed: "What's the point of lying about this matter?

I understand that you are worried about Yunnan. I have asked Jin Yiwei to check whether Yunnan officials are involved.

There are some things that we can turn a blind eye to, but they are related to border security and cannot be muddled through.

In this regard, the first assistant also has the same attitude.

Let the Jin Yiwei find out and then discuss their official hats. "

After Wei Guangde received the official document from Jin Yiwei and Yunnan the day before yesterday, he discussed with Zhang Juzheng that the governor and chief envoy of Yunnan would have to be replaced.

He is so incompetent that he can make such a big mistake.

(End of this chapter)