The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

The ministers gathered together again early in the morning. This was the first opportunity for the ministers to see the emperor again after the hurried court meeting in the twelfth lunar month of the previous year. It was also the opportunity for the ministers to criticize the current ills in front of the emperor.

When Liu Jian and Li Dongyang met, they had been waiting for Zhong Zhong to show up and find an explanation to Zhong Zhong.

But there was no sign of Zhong Zhong on the household side. Zhong Zhong's complaint of illness was still not over. Probably Zhong Zhong also realized that he might become the target of public criticism, so he chose to avoid the first court meeting after the year.

As the right minister of the Ministry of Finance, Lu Wan looked very impressive. A group of people surrounded him, and some seemed to be talking to Lu Wan about the affairs of the Ministry of Finance. However, in the eyes of some people, they were just a bunch of villains. They are trying to curry favor with Lu Wan. They have no principles as Confucian ministers...

No one was able to enter Fengtianmen.

The emperor did not come, and in the end it was Chen Kuan who came over and said: "My ministers, please go back first. Your Majesty is still a little ill, so we can only postpone the court meeting for now. In a few days, when it is time to borrow money, Your Majesty will I will come to court."

The ministers looked at each other.

It was originally thought that Zhu Youtang's body had recovered and everything could be restored to the old system. While Zhang Zhouren was away from the capital, they could make good use of this time to repair their relationship with the emperor.

who knew...

Lin Han walked over and asked, "How is your Majesty's dragon body? What can the Imperial Hospital say...?"

Chen Kuan smiled and said, "Minister Lin, there are some questions you shouldn't ask. His Majesty has been recuperating recently and is not seriously ill. I hope that the ministers will not make unwarranted assumptions."

……

……

The ministers dispersed.

Different officials have to go back to their respective yamen, and some get together to talk about something, but basically they can't escape some trivial matters. In this kind of public place, no one will talk about big things.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang went to the cabinet to check in, which was different from the way everyone else took.

Cheng Minzheng made an excuse to go to the Hanlin Academy early and did not go with them.

"Next, Zhang Tingmian should be transferred back." Liu Jian said, "With him here, at least no one in the government or the opposition will cause trouble."

Li Dongyang asked: "Are you trying to restrict those people at Shangtingchu?"

Liu Jian glanced at Li Dongyang and nodded naturally.

Li Dongyang said: "The incident involving Yu Qiao years ago made Shangtingchun, who should not have shown his face in the court, suddenly become the target of public criticism. In the handling and decision-making of many matters after the year, His Majesty deliberately favored Shangtingchun." , It is also necessary to find ways to curb his monopoly on the government, but just bringing the British prince back will not have much effect. "

"Besides this, do you have any other good ideas?" Liu Jian asked with a frown.

Li Dongyang thought for a while, but shook his head. It was obvious that he wanted to control the yamen that the emperor trusted, which was difficult.

It was as if they had nothing to do with Zhang Zhou.

Liu Jian looked into the distance and said, "Do you still remember what I told you?"

"Which thing?" Li Dongyang seemed not to know what Liu Jian was referring to.

Liu Jiandao: "The only people who can check and balance Zhang Bingkuan may be the princes and nobles of those generations. It is obviously unfeasible to take the road of official speech and impeachment. Zhang Bingkuan is different from ordinary sycophants."

"That's true." Li Dongyang sighed, "The most important thing about Zhang Bingkuan is that he can do things for the court. Sometimes his ability to do things makes people have to pay attention. However, this is also his shortcoming. At any time, people who can do things will , and they often end badly.”

"What did you say?" Liu Jian glanced over.

Li Dongyang smiled bitterly and said: "Let's just put it bluntly. Isn't it true that among the people in the government and the public, he is the one who knows how to do things and is the easiest to offend others? Or as you said in the middle hall, those princes and nobles are the ones who can't tolerate him the most. But how many people have it? Do you have the guts to compete with Zhang Bingkuan? Even if a powerful minister who is deeply trusted by His Majesty seems to have no edges at times, no one dares to touch him. No one knows whether those edges will unfold against him..."

Liu Jian was silent.

Li Dongyang said: "Even if we want Zhang Tingmian to come back, I'm afraid it won't be easy. Zhang Tingmian is not energetic, and there are concerns about his descendants. We are afraid that after he comes back, he will collude with Zhang Bingkuan again."

Liu Jian continued to remain silent.

"So, what I'm thinking is...should...we do this?" Li Dongyang seemed to understand Liu Jian's intention.

The two had discussed the "physical eradication" approach before.

Liu Jian waved his hands and said: "You and I, Wenru, don't have to think about those things. Their internal struggles are understandable no matter what they do. Only when we do things ourselves, we must abide by the rules. Otherwise, without Zhang Bingkuan, There are also many people who are deeply trusted by His Majesty, such as Wang Qiong and Lu Wan. How will they deal with it then? "

Li Dongyang said: "Yes, with Zhang Bingkuan here, these people are still keeping their peace. If Zhang Bingkuan is not here, it will be even harder to scare them."

Liu Jiandao: "We let Zhang Bingkuan go before, because we mistakenly thought that he was still young, or thought that it would be difficult for him to find allies and party members from the six ministries of the DPRK and Central Government. But we never thought that he would select from some inconspicuous officials. Some talented people have become his right-hand man. Now that he has full wings, since we cannot confront him head-on, we should focus on cutting off his wings."

Li Dongyang nodded and said: "No matter how careful he is, he can't prevent others from taking bribes and bending the law. Liu Yu is the best example. He wanted to use this to shock the people around him, but he never thought that many people would distance themselves from him because of this... …It seems like we should plan carefully.”

"Let's not talk about anything else."

Liu Jiandao said, "Find a way to find someone to explain Zhang Tingmian's hard work and bring him back first. Among the military heroes in the court, Zhang Tingmian is the only one who can compete head-on with Zhang Bingkuan."

"Ah."

This time Li Dongyang also agreed with Liu Jian's point of view, nodded and said: "Let's find someone. However, someone should also notify Zhang Tingmian and let him keep asking. Your Majesty may be merciful and considerate of him."

……

……

port.

Late at night, Zhang Zhou put on a piece of clothing and sat at the table in a heated room, lighting a candle to deal with the official documents at hand.

There are three types.

One is that the emperor sends it directly to him to ask for advice... which is equivalent to him being the chief minister and cabinet minister, because the emperor will basically adopt the opinions he gives, and even the chief ceremonial officer has no right to interfere.

The second type is official documents from the Ministry of War, which also involve Liaodong military affairs.

The third thing is port affairs. It seems that the third thing is the smallest, but it involves many aspects. Zhang Zhou has to be the home of a new type of city on his own.

In the dead of night.

Cui Ying held the lantern and put on the hot tea. Zhang Zhou raised her head and smiled at her. Cui Ying also sat down a little shyly, sitting opposite Zhang Zhou's desk, put on the tea, poured out the tea, and then helped Zhang Zhou handed over the official documents one by one and stacked them neatly.

It doesn't seem to help much, but it will make Zhang Zhou's desk look neater.

"What time is it?" Zhang Zhou asked.

Cui Ying said: "It's the middle of the night..." While speaking, Cui Ying was still helping Zhang Zhou refine ink, which was also her daily job.

The daughter of a boudoir who originally went to bed very early has become a night owl because she has been with Zhang Zhou for less than a month, and she seems to have begun to adapt to the habit of sleeping in the middle of the night.

"I'm a little hungry. Bring me some food." Zhang Zhou said.

"Ah."

Cui Ying stood up.

At this time, she had a little more expectations.

Because she is relatively good at cooking. After all, Cui Ying is just Cui Yuan's half-sister. Her childhood was not just about poetry, songs, and knitting. She was also exposed to many daily chores. .

Every time she helps Zhang Zhou prepare supper, she feels a sense of accomplishment.

After all, Zhang Zhou was away from home and slept in the open most of the time. He had no pursuit of food or anything like that, and her presence improved Zhang Zhou's food.

Even Zhang Zhou himself felt that because he accepted Cui Ying, he had no worries at the port. Even though there seemed to be a lot of business every day and he often had to stay up late to go out for inspections, he actually gained weight in a month.

When a person gets a little fatter, he becomes more adaptable to a comfortable life. Zhang Zhou vaguely felt that there was nothing wrong with staying in the port. If he did not return to the capital, he could just have some leisure time.

……

……

In the middle of the night, Sun Shangqi knew that Zhang Zhou was not sleeping, so he came over to disturb Zhang Zhou.

With the help of Cui Ying, Zhang Zhou tidied his clothes and went to the hall where he received guests with Wang Mingshan, who was also a night owl.

Sun Shangqi led the way and brought one person, Yang Peng, who was now able to control the wind and rain in the court.

Yang Peng first bowed to Zhang Zhou and said, "I will be leaving for Beijing tomorrow. I had planned to come and say goodbye to you early tomorrow morning, but I know you haven't gone to bed yet, so I have to come and disturb you first. Some things should be explained in advance, and there is no need to discuss them in front of others."

As he said that, he glanced at Sun Shangqi, which probably meant that you were in the way.

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded.

Sun Shangqi also retreated very wisely.

After only Zhang Zhou and Yang Peng were left in the hall, Yang Peng said: "Your Majesty has promoted our family to where we are today, and you have also helped us a lot. After returning to Beijing this time, as our family knows, situation, changes must be made in the East Factory.”

Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Yang does not need to discuss this with me."

"It's inappropriate not to discuss it." Yang Peng said, "My lord, you should know that under the management of Li Zhang and Eunuch Li, Dongchang has become more and more arrogant in doing things, which is a little different from the past few years. There is something arrogant about it, it can shock people. . Your Majesty wants Dongchang to restrain himself, and the Jinyi Guards also want to restrain themselves."

"Yeah." Zhang Zhou nodded again, agreeing with this point of view.

"But there are many people in the DPRK who prefer to be tough and not soft. I'm afraid it's hard to win people's hearts just by being gentle. Therefore, our family means that we can't be merciful after we go back... But where should we be tough and where should we be soft? I need some guidance from you, this is not here, and there is also a contact location..."

Yang Peng said this with a smile.

In fact, it was to remind Zhang Zhou that Yang Peng could help him in the future. As long as Zhang Zhou didn't like it, Yang Peng could directly make it difficult for him.

Asking where to be tough is actually telling someone indirectly. I don't decide on my own what matters need to be dealt with toughly. I ask for your opinion, which is equivalent to saying where you point me, I will hit.

Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Yang, isn't it a little inappropriate for you to ask me so directly?"

Yang Peng said with a smile: "You should know who our family is, sir. Our family is by no means the kind of ungrateful people, and our family knows the rules very well. Any affairs in the court that involve Dongchang and Jinyiwei must be punished. It has nothing to do with you.”

Zhang Zhou immediately felt that Yang Peng's methods were much higher than Li Zhang's.

This is why Yang Peng was able to mess around under a treacherous minister like Li Guang, and later he was able to escape to his side, and even gained the emperor's trust.

It's not that he can fawn over, but that he can use the wind to steer the ship, and because he "principles", to put it bluntly, he is a qualified watchdog. He does not have a strong desire for expression like Li Zhang, but he will do things cautiously, and Know how to use money to do things.

They are all villains, but Yang Peng can be said to be unique.

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "If you really need help, I'll have to trouble Eunuch Yang."

Of course, Zhang Zhou didn't need to directly ask Yang Peng for help, but for many things, he indirectly relied on Yang Peng.

For example, when someone in the court tried to impeach him, Yang Peng secretly helped him, which meant that he could suppress some public opinions without Zhang Zhou coming forward, and the people would also spread the word about Zhang Zhou's capable side... at least while he was in the court. When you still have power, you won’t be criticized by so many people.

Because Dongchang and Jinyiwei are on his side, they can sway public opinion.

Of course, if Zhang Zhou really falls, public opinion cannot be controlled by Zhang Zhou or the factory guards. In the end, it is the civil servants holding pens who will define his loyalty.

Yang Peng smiled and said: "Before we leave, there is one more thing that I would like to ask for your opinion, sir."

"Please speak," Zhang Zhou said.

"Li Zhang, Eunuch Li... I wonder if you... trust me?" Yang Peng asked a question with a smile.

When Zhang Zhou thought about this question, he felt a chill coming over him.

Does Yang Peng want to attack Li Zhang?

With Yang Peng's consciousness, he naturally understood that when the emperor used Li Zhang, he had complete trust in him... Now that Li Zhang is sent to the three sides as an errand, it does not mean that Li Zhang has completely lost the emperor's trust. It's more of a protection.

Yang Peng was very afraid that Li Zhang would suppress Yang Peng again when he returned to the court in the future.

Therefore, in order to protect himself, Yang Peng had no choice but to strike first.

This is also related to Li Zhang's usual way of doing things and not leaving a way for others to survive...Li Zhang's ruthlessness made Yang Peng feel very afraid.

There had been no head-on conflict before because Yang Peng was out of power and Li Zhang's foundation was unstable. In addition, Zhang Zhou protected Yang Peng, so Li Zhang did not dare to act recklessly.

But when Li Zhang makes a comeback, the conflict between Li Zhang and Yang Peng will definitely become public.

Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Li is working for Your Majesty. What does it matter whether I trust him or not?"

"Oh."

Yang Peng had to think about this sentence and whether Zhang Zhou wanted to protect Li Zhang.

Zhang Zhou stood up and said: "Eunuch Yang, please be careful on your way back to Beijing. You are in a high position now, I'm afraid someone will covet your position. And the recent events in the government and the public... are quite unpredictable. Even myself, It’s hard to say that if you don’t do anything right, you will make enemies.”

Yang Peng smiled and said: "Don't worry, sir, our family will definitely be careful. We also want to do more things for you, and do our best for His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty." (End of Chapter)