The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

After Lu Wan met the emperor, Yang Peng escorted him out of the palace.

He didn't say a word to Yang Peng on the way. After leaving the palace, he went straight to Chen Kuan's private residence in Beijing. After handing over the visiting card, he immediately told him the time of his next visit.

Chen Kuan has been staying in the palace recently and basically doesn't ask about things outside the palace. When he learned that Lu Wan had come to visit him, he felt that the matter was not simple...

Wei Bin said, "Although this Minister Lu has a promising future, he has withdrawn from the Shangting Office this time, which is like being plucked out. Who knows how many people will want to plot against him? He wants to visit you, Eunuch Chen, now. He must be afraid, right?"

Chen Kuan said: "He has offended many people in the past two years, but many people have also received his favors. He is very good at welcoming and seeing off people. What you don't know is that the followers around him are more lively than those around Duke Cai."

"Then we still need to meet?" Wei Bin looked puzzled.

In Wei Bin's opinion, Lu Wan is an unstable and dangerous person.

Chen Kuan smiled and said, "It's okay to meet him. He dares to openly associate with people like us in the palace. He should know that if something goes wrong, he will be the one to suffer. Since he doesn't care about his reputation among the literati, what do we have to be afraid of? I also want to see what he wants to do."

……

……

Although Chen Kuan was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, he had no presence in the court.

In the past two years, the eunuch in charge of the Silijian had changed too frequently. After Chen Kuan came to power, he was worried that he would be removed by the emperor, so he was very cautious in everything he did. He did not dare to form a faction in the court. Any matters were discussed within the Silijian and no communication was made with outside officials.

The reason why he wanted to see Lu Wan at this time was because he really wanted to have further communication with Lu Wan, or even make Lu Wan work for him.

Chen Kuan did not meet Lu Wan in his private residence, but sent someone to invite Lu Wan to a teahouse. This teahouse was not Chen Kuan's personal property, but was opened by someone from his family. It was closed to visitors that day and only entertained this table.

In order to show his importance, Chen Kuan went there in advance to wait, and when the people arrived, he went downstairs to greet them in person.

"Mr. Chen, you are too polite. It should be me who comes to visit you. How dare I trouble you to come and greet me?" Lu Wan said.

Chen Kuan smiled and said, "We are all working for the court, why should we care so much? Let's talk upstairs."

The two of them went to the second floor and did not choose a seat by the window. The weather was still a little cold, so Chen Kuan had someone prepare two braziers and put them aside.

Chen Kuan said: "This place is not like the palace, where the wind blows in from all sides, but it is a good place to talk. After all, there are ears behind the walls."

Lu Wan nodded, then took out something and handed it to Chen Kuan.

Chen Kuan opened it and looked at it, then asked curiously, "What is this?"

Lu Wan said, "I recently bought a house in the suburbs of Beijing. I don't usually live there. I have some free time, so I asked someone to arrange some flowers and plants. If you have time, Mr. Chen, you may go and see it. This yard is a gift from me to you."

"You... don't have to do this." Chen Kuan didn't expect that Lu Wan would give him a house right away.

Although it is outside the capital, it is right at the feet of the emperor and is still worth a lot of money.

Lu Wan added: "I came from the south, and I'm not used to the climate in the capital."

Chen Kuan originally wanted to return the house deed, but he also wanted to know what Lu Wan was going to do. Besides, eunuchs were indeed greedy for money, so he refused to give up.

It is equivalent to accepting it.

"Minister Lu, if you have something to say, just say it. You came to me, but what is it that is unresolved that you want us to help you with? The court meeting will be the day after tomorrow. As far as I know, you are going to be promoted to the left vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Although His Majesty has not made it public yet, it is almost settled." Chen Kuan said.

Lu Wan said: "The Right Assistant Minister has been promoted to the Left Assistant Minister, and he has not yet completed the three-year examination. I am afraid he is not capable of doing so."

"Are you still afraid?" Chen Kuan smiled.

In his opinion, Lu Wan was a powerful figure in the capital. Although he rose to power later than Wang Qiong, the commotion he caused in the Shangting Office was much greater than that of Wang Qiong, and even Zhang Zhou had to stand aside.

Previously, the Shangtingchu was not an office that directly confronted the cabinet, but since Lu Wan took office in the Shangtingchu, it had clashed with the cabinet many times and even directly removed a cabinet minister, Xie Qian, who is still serving his sentence.

Lu Wan said: "I want to go out of the capital to gain more experience for a few years."

"Oh?" Chen Kuan seemed to understand something.

Obviously, Lu Wan felt that being the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Beijing did not give him much room to display his talents, and he wanted to go out and gain real power.

Chen Kuan asked, "You want to go to Sanbian?"

This sentence hit the nail on the head. Lu Wan nodded and said, "That's exactly what I meant. I also know that His Majesty is about to transfer the Three Borders General to the capital and make him the Chief Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate. The position of the Three Borders will be vacant, and someone will need to take it up."

Chen Kuan smiled and said, "But why did we hear some rumors that Xinjian Bo is more suitable for this job?"

Lu Wan seemed to have expected Chen Kuan to say this. He said, "Wang Bo'an has been managing the military affairs in Xuanda. If he leaves Datong now, I'm afraid he won't be able to deter the Tatars. Besides, he needs to take care of the defense of Weininghai and Maoerzhuang, as well as the construction of the city."

Chen Kuan nodded and said, "There aren't many people in the whole court who are suitable to replace Minister Wang of the Ministry of Revenue. In fact, in my opinion, Minister Wang should continue to stay in the northwest. It would be a waste of his talent if he returned to Beijing and joined the Censorate."

When Lu Wan heard this, he felt that Chen Kuan was hinting at something.

It's like telling him openly that Wang Qiong is actually very good, but you, Lu Wan, are not.

Chen Kuan then added: "If you, Minister Lu, are interested in going to the three frontiers, why don't you mention it to His Majesty in person?"

Lu Wan said, "Eunuch Chen is well-informed. I just met His Majesty today, but I dare not act rashly in front of His Majesty. The war in Liaodong is tense now, and the court is in need of people. I want to share your worries, but I am afraid... that I may be too radical in some matters and make Your Majesty unhappy."

"You are very thoughtful." Chen Kuan said, "Then why don't you go to Duke Cai to raise it? In the eyes of outsiders, you were promoted by Duke Cai, and he is very kind to you. And you should also know that the position of the Three Borders General Commander cannot be achieved without the approval of Duke Cai."

Lu Wan said: "It would be too deliberate to bring it up directly."

"Are you afraid of being deliberate? When you come to our house to talk about it, it's not deliberate, but presumptuous." Chen Kuan said.

It seems that you are afraid of offending Zhang Bingkuan, but not me?

Lu Wan said quickly, "Duke Cai is a free and easy person. He tries not to care about many things to show that he has no intention of competing for fame and fortune. However, the affairs of the northwest are not only related to the stability of the country, but also to fame and fortune. If I visit him, it will be equivalent to confirming the rumors outside and being regarded as a party member. I would rather ask for your help, Lord Chen. Just mention it in the court, at least it will give me hope."

"hehe."

Chen Kuan smiled and nodded, "I heard that you are not willing to be a left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and want to be in charge of the military affairs in the northwest. In this way, as long as you have some achievements and come back in a few years, the position of Shangshu will be secure."

Lu Wan said, "It's not for the position of Shangshu, but because I don't have many useful people around me, and I'm not familiar with the Northwest soldiers. At most, I have experience as an official in Ji and Liao, and I don't know many people." Chen Kuan said, "Do you mean to cultivate some of your own people? Don't rush to deny it. If you say so, it's not impossible. I will help you raise a question, or when His Majesty asks, I will help you say a few words."

"Thank you, Mr. Chen." Lu Wan quickly stood up and bowed to express his gratitude.

"Don't be in a hurry to thank me. Let me ask you, are we helping you so much just for... this yard?" Chen Kuan asked with a stern face.

Lu Wan said, "I understand. If you have any instructions in the future, I will do my best. If there is anything, I will inform you in advance and discuss it with you."

When Chen Kuan heard this, he changed his name to "Eunuch" instead of "Mr. Chen". It seems that you respected me when I was helping you, but when we start working together, you treat me like a eunuch, right?

Lu Wan then added: "I will have many requests in the future, and I hope you can accommodate me."

Originally, the latter sentence was intended to take advantage of Chen Kuan.

But after hearing this, Chen Kuan felt much better.

Because you, Lu Wan, know that I still have something to ask of you, so you are inferior to me in status, and you have to listen to whatever I say.

Although I don't let you listen to me on everything, but at least in many aspects of policy making, I, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, am no longer a toothless tiger and can start to influence the situation in the court.

Lu Wan said: "I also know that many affairs in the court are handled by the cabinet and the court without consulting you, eunuch. However, in the end, it is you, eunuch, who makes the final decision for His Majesty."

Chen Kuan sighed, "What do you mean by discussing or not discussing? People in the inner court shouldn't discuss with outsiders casually, and I don't care about these things. But you, Minister Lu, shouldn't say some things like that. What I'm most concerned about now is whether there will be anyone who will listen to my advice in the future."

Lu Wan was stunned at first.

Chen Kuan is going to "persuade" the people in the hearing room?

Then he realized that Chen Kuan meant that his policies must have an impact on the higher-ups, and that he, Lu Wan, must help.

Lu Wan pretended to be helpless and said, "I have already come out of the upper listening room."

"Really?" Chen Kuan said with a smile, "You are out today, but you can't be sure when you will go back. And even if it is your successor, they will still listen to your opinions. After all, they also need some guidance from their predecessors."

Lu Wan said: "So I also need your guidance, father-in-law."

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Chen Kuan had a smile on his face.

It seems that at this point, the two have reached a complete agreement.

Chen Kuan helped Lu Wan to be the general governor of Sanbian, and what Lu Wan had to do was to help Chen Kuan develop his network in the court. Especially, Lu Wan's people had to be used by Chen Kuan.

……

……

Yang Peng arrived at the East Factory in the afternoon. Here, he could feel that he was in power. After all, many people fawned on him, and he had been in the East Factory for many years. Although he did not take charge of its affairs before, this place was considered half his home.

When Wang Shi heard that he had returned, he hurried over to pay him a visit.

Yang Peng greeted him with a smile, "Congratulations first, Commander Wang? You have recently been promoted to the commander of the Imperial Guards, but there is no vacancy in the Imperial Guards yet, so you will be in charge of the Northern Pacification Division for a while."

After the emperor returned to the capital, he promoted Wang Shi, the pacification commissioner of the Northern Pacification Office, to a higher rank without saying a word.

He was previously the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and this time he was promoted to commander.

Because there were already many officials on a salary basis in the Jinyiwei, although Wang Shi was not considered an official on a salary basis this time, he could not immediately replace Mou Bin.

Wang Shi said: "I work hard and don't dare to think too much."

"No, you should be promoted if you deserve it. Governor Wang, you are now a capable person in the eyes of His Majesty." Yang Peng said with a smile, "We will cooperate in the future. You don't need to act inferior in front of me."

Wang Shi said, "I dare not. I came here for something. My subordinates reported that after Lu Wan, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, came out of the palace, he drove to the residence of Chen Gong, the eunuch of the Ministry of Ceremonies, and delivered a visiting card. Then Chen Gong left the palace and met with him privately."

"Oh?"

When Yang Peng heard this, he immediately looked unhappy, "I left the palace with him, but I didn't hear him say anything about going to see Eunuch Chen. How could this happen?"

Yang Peng immediately felt that Lu Wan didn't treat him as a human being.

Wang Shi said: "It is still unknown what they discussed specifically. I guess he may have something to ask for. We need to observe and see if Eunuch Chen will help him."

Yang Peng frowned and said, "Need I say more? At this critical moment, he is still in the upper court, and he wants to pave the way for the future before he steps down. The day after tomorrow morning, the emperor will most likely dismiss him from his post, but will keep his position as the assistant minister of the six ministries. Didn't he also say that he would be promoted to the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Wang Shi said: "Everything has been settled. I don't understand why he wants to see Eunuch Chen."

"That means his goal is not just to be the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, but he is still lacking in being a Shangshu. I'm afraid he wants to be transferred to another place... It just so happens that there is a vacancy for the Three Border General Governor position. If he is asked to do it, it seems reasonable." Yang Peng sneered.

With just a few words, he could sort out the issues, but the problem was that Lu Wan didn't mention the three sides at all in front of him.

He was thinking, does he think I am incapable of helping him?

Wang Shi said: "Eunuch Chen should not be able to decide such an important task as the Three Border Commander, right?"

"Of course I can't decide. If there is anyone who can decide this matter, I'm afraid it's only Duke Cai. As long as Duke Cai proposes a candidate, Your Majesty will definitely accept it. But will Duke Cai really make suggestions on this matter? Who knows if the various families will compete for this position during the court meeting?"

Yang Peng said, "It seems that it is time for our family to visit Duke Cai."

"You want to ask Duke Cai for his opinion in person?" Wang Shi said, "Mr. Zhang has just returned to the capital. His Majesty has previously said that outsiders are not allowed to disturb him. He said that he wanted to let Mr. Zhang rest for a few days."

Yang Peng smiled and said, "That's what I said to outsiders. Is it that complicated for us to go? We gave him a gift before, so we just went to ask him if he is satisfied with the gift. Is that not okay?"

Wang Shi was stunned for a moment.

Only then did he realize that the so-called "gift" Yang Peng referred to was Ning Tong.

At that time, Ning Tong was sent to Zhang Zhou, perhaps so that he could visit her at will one day to show his intimacy. (End of this chapter)