The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

late at night.

At the harbor of Yongping Prefecture, Sun Shangqi has been waiting anxiously for Zhang Zhou to come out.

Because Zhang Zhou had been busy during the day, Sun Shangqi also knew that Zhang Zhou should have gone to bed by now, but because someone from the capital was coming and he had to notify Zhang Zhou, now he could only wait for the people inside to speak as soon as possible. Pass it on.

After a long time, Zhang Zhou came out. Just as Sun Shangqi expected, Zhang Zhou was also a little tired at this time and didn't seem to have rested well.

"My lord, I just met someone from Beijing. He said that your Majesty has summoned you to go back. Your Majesty has been ill recently and has been recuperating. There are also military and political matters, so I'm afraid you need to worry more."

Sun Shangqi also knew Zhang Zhou's current status.

Zhang Zhou said: "It seems we can't wait until dawn. Let's prepare the carriage now."

Sun Shangqi said: "But you... haven't had a good rest yet..."

"It doesn't matter, I can just take a nap on the carriage for a while. Although the road is bumpy, the road in the suburbs of Beijing is smooth at least. I will find time to rest by myself. After I have rested, I can ride on horseback again. It will be faster." "

"Let's arrange the humble job now."

Sun Shangqi quickly went out to arrange manpower.

Zhang Zhou wants to return to the capital, so he naturally needs to arrange the escort personnel. Although Yongping Mansion is now Zhang Zhou's territory, there are also not very good situations... That is, there was a dispute between the Jinyi Guards and the local officials here. Conflict, there is no guarantee that someone will not be harmful to Zhang Zhou secretly.

……

……

Zhang Zhou and Wang Mingshan were sitting in the carriage together.

Zhang Zhou leaned on the soft pillow. He didn't open his eyes until he left the city and reached the bumpy road. At this time, a small candle next to him was still on. It was fastened with a glass cover. Wang Mingshan was holding the glass cover carefully. It didn't seem to be hot up there, and she seemed to enjoy watching the light reflected in the glass.

"What time is it?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"It's not dawn yet." Wang Mingshan then hung the lamp back on the carriage and looked back at Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou didn't sleep well. In fact, Wang Mingshan's situation was the same, but she seemed to be able to endure it better. Maybe it was the training she had experienced at her parents' home in the first half of her life that allowed her to adapt to such a long period of not sleeping.

Even Zhang Zhou couldn't help but think that this person who practices martial arts is really different from those who don't practice martial arts.

"Have you left the city?" Zhang Zhou asked.

"Ah."

Zhang Zhou then approached the window, opened the curtain and looked outside.

But they saw Sun Shangqi leading a group of people on horseback, holding torches and moving forward cautiously. The team was not moving fast, but it was in an orderly manner.

There were also a lot of goods being pulled behind, all of which were to be transported to the capital. Together with the escorts in front, there were at least 500 people in this group.

This battle alone made Zhang Zhou feel as if he was out to fight.

"My lord, it's still early, you can rest again. If something happens on the way, I will wake you up." Sun Shangqi couldn't help but ask when he saw Zhang Zhou's head emerging from the transom.

Zhang Zhou looked back at the direction of the city wall and sighed: "The snow in the north is so heavy, but it doesn't rain much here. If there is no news about Cui Prince Consort and Anbian Hou in a few days, I'm afraid it will be necessary. Troops and horses have been sent to assist."

Sun Shangqi said: "Don't worry, my lord. The news I just learned is that people who went out to join the army in Ji Town have returned and brought back the news from the front. The troops of Anbian Hou and Jingshan Bo are already returning. On the way to retreat."

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Then the transom curtain was lowered again.

Sun Shangqi rode his horse and left first. After a while, he came closer and said: "My lord, there are just envoys from the capital urging you to go back. It seems that your Majesty is in a hurry to summon you."

"Ah."

Zhang Zhou's voice came from the carriage, but it also had a sense of calm: "No matter what happens in the capital, it will be the same with or without me. It does not mean that I am the only one who can stabilize the situation."

Sun Shangqi originally wanted to compliment Zhang Zhou, but from the meaning of Zhang Zhou's words, he seemed to feel that Zhang Zhou had no intention of getting involved in some disputes.

The Jinyiwei also knew to some extent that Zhang Zhou and the civil servants were very at odds with each other. Now the civil servants were trying to find ways to cause trouble for Zhang Zhou. And this time Zhang Zhou returned to the capital, if the war in the north did not go well, it would probably cause trouble. Extreme conflicts can even burn the flames outside the court.

……

……

In the capital city.

There was still no morning service in the morning.

Zhu Youtang said that he had been out of court for more than ten days due to illness. During these days, the ministers also tried their best to inquire about the emperor's condition, but no one informed them about the emperor's condition. Who was Xiao Jing, the eunuch who used to be the chief minister of rites? On their side, there are still some rumors, but now Chen Kuan adheres to the attitude of having nothing to do with himself, and the gap between him and the ministers seems to be deep.

Even Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others felt that Eunuch Chen did not seem to be the successor cultivated by Xiao Jing, but rather seemed to have always been on the opposite side of them.

Logically speaking, Xiao Jing and Chen Kuan are from the same faction, so there won't be such a big contrast.

When the cabinet was on duty, Li Dongyang came in from the outside. He first asked the people in Zhongshushe not to come in, even if they had important memorials to deliver. Then he closed the door and said to Liu Jian seriously: "I am convinced that Bo'an is unworthy Return with success.”

"Are you sure?" Liu Jian asked.

"Yes." Li Dongyang said firmly, "The memorial was sent to His Majesty the day before yesterday, but it was not disclosed to the Cabinet. Obviously, His Majesty wanted to conceal the news first."

Liu Jian said in a deep voice: "It may not be that His Majesty deliberately concealed it."

The implication is that in addition to the emperor, it may also be Chen Kuan, or someone close to Zhang Zhou, who is causing trouble behind the scenes.

Li Dongyang said: "Is it time for us to do something about it? Up to now, everything is calm in the capital... But Zhang Bingkuan is not in the capital, and even his party members seem to be very calm. Recently, several things in the Ministry of War have happened one after another. It's the minister who is doing it, and it doesn't seem to have much to do with the minister."

"Have you been there?" Liu Jian asked.

"Ah."

Li Dongyang did not hide anything, nodded and said, "I have been to the Ministry of War a few times, and I realized that the Ministry of War has been very slack in its official duties recently. Zhang Bingkuan seems to be a capable person, but in fact, his ability to handle government affairs and internal affairs is basically the same as that of Zhang Bingkuan. There is no difference between Jinshi in the new department, but it is hard to live up to his reputation, and he has been away from Beijing recently, causing chaos in the Ministry of War."

Liu Jian thought for a while, and his eyes suddenly became sharp.

Li Dongyang immediately understood what Liu Jian meant and asked tentatively: "Then he is not qualified for the position of minister, so he should be impeached?"

Zhang Zhou should not be judged based on his gains and losses on the northern battlefield, because from a certain perspective, it is precisely because of Zhang Zhou's existence that the Ming Dynasty has won successive victories in the northern battlefield in recent years.

This time it was just a failure, and it was used to impeach Zhang Zhou. How could the emperor agree?
Liu Jiandao: "Look again."

"Still waiting?" Li Dongyang obviously didn't have that much patience anymore.

Liu Jian stood up, walked back and forth for a moment, then turned his gaze to the snowflakes floating outside the window, and said: "This year's events are full of evil. First, His Majesty got sick after winter, and then he couldn't get sick, and then Zhang Bingkuan died. Leaving Beijing at this time, and the heavy snowfall in the north... Zhang Bingkuan claims to be proficient in astronomy and calendar, can't he deduce this? "

Li Dongyang said: "How can you trust everything about a divine plan?"

Liu Jiandao: "But since he once had such ability, he should have expected such a situation, but he still sent troops northward at this time...Did Bo'an really not achieve any military exploits, or..."

"We have already crossed the Weining Sea. It is estimated that in the next few days, there will be a memorial from him to Mao'erzhuang or Datong. At this time, are you still worried that Wang Bo'an will kill him? He does have many orders on the use of troops. It is difficult for people to predict things, but he also knows how to judge the situation. Since the Tatars are unwilling to fight our soldiers head-on, how can they give him another chance after he returns to the army?"

Li Dongyang analyzed it carefully.

Now that Wang Shouren has returned home, it really should be over. What are you, Liu Jian, still worried about?
As the chief minister of the cabinet, all civil servants are staring at you. I am following you. You should be the one to guide me, not me to make suggestions every time.

"Yu Qiao is still waiting." Li Dongyang added fire.

When Liu Jian thought of Xie Qian, he felt an inexplicable anger in his heart. That was the source of the recent big conflict between him and Zhang Zhou.

Originally, the civil servants were just doing "routine business", impeaching Wang Shouren and putting pressure on Zhang Zhou. Who would have expected that the emperor actually used the method of imprisonment to target the Ming cabinet ministers? Isn't this a slap in the face of the cabinet?
Li Dongyang's meaning is also very clear.

If you don't take action against Zhang Zhou, Zhang Zhou will be more aggressive.

"Then find someone to impeach you. Remember not to be a Beijing official." Liu Jiandao.

"Why?" Li Dongyang asked first, and then thought for a moment, "Do you want to... preserve the blood flowing in front of you? But it's also true that the previous incident caused the department to collapse. Now the six departments are still able to speak. There are fewer and fewer people who dare to speak out.”

"You are wrong. Binzhi, what I mean is that we do not need people around us to impeach Zhang Bingkuan. This is to prevent you and me from getting involved and following in Qiao's footsteps. Moreover, it is difficult for Your Majesty to trust these people's words. It can be targeted at anyone, even Zhang Bingkuan's people... It is useless for outsiders to talk about what His Majesty has already determined in his heart. There is no saying that three people can become a tiger, or... the three people who become a tiger are definitely not on our side. .”

Li Dongyang said: "I understand that those who can speak to His Majesty are constantly complimenting Zhang Bingkuan behind his back. Just like Li Guang and Li Eunuch..."

Speaking of this, Li Dongyang suddenly fell silent.

He also thought that at the beginning, Li Guang also covered the sky with one hand and also squeezed their living environment. But at that time, civil servants did not have as many means to deal with Li Guang as they do now, and there were even Tu Yu and others who secretly made friends with Li Guang. , all regarded Li Guang as a heavenly master.

And now...

Their attitude towards Zhang Zhou seemed to be in conflict, but Zhang Zhou was a scholar and had been to the Hanlin Academy.

Maybe this is called...

Bully the weak and fear the strong.

……

……

Li Dongyang then went to make arrangements.

But before he could find the person who was going to be impeached, or find some way to hint at something and let others run errands for him... a piece of very bad news came...

The Jin Yiwei raided Xie Qian's mansion in Beijing, captured Xie Qian, and handed him over directly to Beizhen Fusi. After that, there was no news at all.

This news can also be said to have caused an uproar in the official circles of the capital in winter.

"what happened?"

When Li Dongyang heard the news, he was still outside, and then he hurried to the official department to inquire about the situation.

Because he knew that at this time, only the Minister of Civil Affairs and the ministers below could jointly ensure that nothing happened to Xie Qian in the imperial prison.

Ma Wensheng was also in the staff department, and he was also the one who received Li Dongyang. When faced with Li Dongyang's inquiry, he just said as if he was giving up his pick: "This is news I just learned. You don't have to worry too much, Binzhi."

Li Dongyang was so angry that he slapped his hand on the table and said sternly: "Is this butcher's knife placed on the neck of the civil servant?"

"Alas!" Ma Wensheng sighed softly, "Think about Keqin, when he entered the imperial prison, and the previous years... not counting the past few years... In fact, in recent years, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers can be regarded as Harmonious. Think about Chenghua again..."

Ma Wensheng was reminding Li Dongyang not to be so pessimistic about everything.

Compared with the past few years, the fact that Xie Qian was imprisoned is indeed very bad.

But what if you want to go further?
This kind of thing was common in the past... After the officials were impeached, there were many accidents, and it was very common for the officials to be imprisoned. However, the officials still did this because they wanted to gain a clear name.

Why did it become unacceptable to go to jail when we got here to Xie Qian?

Li Dongyang said: "There must be a reason, right?"

Ma Wensheng took a long breath and said: "I'm afraid you have to ask His Majesty. Nowadays, matters in the palace are closed to the outside world, so you have to have someone to ask. Binzhi, do you know how His Majesty's performance is now?" "

Li Dongyang looked at Ma Wensheng and roughly understood what Ma Wensheng meant.

You don't even know the emperor's condition, so you want to interfere with the progress of the prison case?
You probably don't know that being a minister doesn't mean that only the Three Justices can deal with you, nor does it mean that only corruption and bending the law will be punished. The emperor has thousands of ways to deal with you, and seeing you unhappy is one of them.

Before the Ming Dynasty, even the imperial staff often appeared, so in the past few years, the emperor had generally retained the dignity of a civil servant.

"Binzhi, don't leave in a hurry, I'm telling you."

Ma Wensheng also felt that Li Dongyang was very annoyed because of his slackness on this matter, and he did not even intend to have a detailed conversation with him.

"Ok?"

Li Dongyang looked sideways at Ma Wensheng.

Ma Wensheng said: "Recently, all the employment posts submitted by the Ministry of Personnel have been rejected. Keqin came here before, and based on what he vaguely revealed, His Majesty wants to wait for Zhang Bingkuan to come back before deciding on some things. I guess, after Zhang Bingkuan comes back, ...There will be a possibility of joining the cabinet.”

Li Dongyang said coldly: "What you are worried about is that when Zhang Bingkuan comes back, he will directly replace you, right?"

"hehe."

Ma Wensheng was somewhat helpless.

But Li Dongyang was right.

Now the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel cannot make the decision regarding the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel, but they have to wait for Zhang Zhou to come back to make the decision.

Doesn't this obviously mean that he wants to tell Ma Wensheng that you are done playing, and when Zhang Zhou comes back, he can occupy the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Isn’t it reasonable for the Minister of War to be promoted to Minister of Officials? (End of chapter)