I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 168 Gao Gong Returns to Beijing
Zhang Juzheng quickly stood up, took a few steps forward, and handed the urgent report to Xu Jie who was sitting at the top.

Xu Jie read it hurriedly, then slammed the urgent report on the table with a bang, his hair and beard shaking with anger.

"This is too much! This is too cruel! This beast must be chopped into pieces to appease the anger of hundreds of millions of soldiers and civilians in the Ming Dynasty!"

This Wang Gao is so bad!
Unauthorized use of military force and looting of the border during the period of national mourning is a blatant attack. First, you have no basis and are bullying too much. Second, the Ming Dynasty has a sense of dignity and must fight back fiercely and retaliate to the death.

Even Tumen Khan, who had always been at odds with the Ming Dynasty, was tactful and refrained from fighting during the period of imperial mourning during the Jiajing period.

But this Wang Gao not only raised troops to disturb the border, but also posted edicts everywhere to humiliate Emperor Jiajing, and even held a banquet in his own capital to celebrate.

This is like a funeral in the cat's house. You, a mouse, insist on singing and dancing at the doorstep. Even the most docile cat will bite you to death.

No wonder Xu Jie, who usually has a good temper, got angry.

"Where does this Wang Gao come from?"

Xu Jie asked.

"Yuan Fu, Wang Gao is the son of Duo Beile, the commander of Jianzhou Right Guard. His father died early, and he was adopted by Wang Tai, the leader of the Hada tribe of Haixi Jurchen. He studied in Fushun and was smart and brave.

In the 1557th year of the reign of Emperor Jiajing (), he attacked Fushun City and killed its garrison commander Peng Wenzhu. He also plundered the forts of Dongzhou and Hui'an, causing great harm.

In the 1562st year of Jiajing (), he lured and killed the Ming deputy general Heichun at Xifu Mountain, invaded Liaoyang, robbed Gushan, and captured Fushun. He successively killed dozens of people including the commander Wang Guozhu.

Xu Jie's eyes also flared up with anger when he heard this. "So it turns out that this is a habitual criminal! He has committed many evil deeds and is full of evil! This guy must not be let off lightly! Uncle, what did the Ministry of War report?"

"In reply to Yuan Fu, the Ministry of War also means that this beast should not be forgiven lightly, otherwise the dignity of the Ming Dynasty will be completely lost. As for starting a war, it is up to the emperor to make a wise decision."

Xu Jie stroked his beard and said slowly: "This is the words of an old and mature man. Uncle, what do you plan to do?"

Zhang Juzheng replied in a deep voice: "In reply to Yuan Fu's words, I have prepared a draft. Going to war is a serious matter and cannot be started without authorization. I have ordered the Governor of Ji and Liao, Tan, to inspect Liaodong, first to verify the matter, and second to prepare for punishing evildoers and eliminating bandits."

Xu Jie's round eyes flickered.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had a very close relationship with the late Emperor.

Wang Gao's words and actions were like he was walking into the edge of a knife with his chest puffed out.

Everyone in the court who is interested knows what kind of person His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is. When he can be ruthless, he is three times more ruthless than the late emperor.

The Eastern Japanese angered him, so he ordered the navy to take turns bombarding the other country's ports as a routine annual exercise.

When he was the crown prince, he dared to mobilize troops from thousands of miles away and won a great victory in Xianghe; when he was the grandson of the emperor, he dared to send troops out of the pass as bait and fought the Battle of Liuhe.

Wang Gao is humiliating the late emperor in this way now. How can His Royal Highness the Crown Prince be so happy if he doesn't chop you into ninety-nine pieces and lay them out neatly?
However, Zhang Juzheng's reaction was a little beyond Xu Jie's expectations.

The Minister of War Jiang Dong finally retired and returned to his hometown. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince petitioned the Emperor to transfer Hu Zongxian back to Beijing to be the Minister of War, and to transfer Wu Dui to be the Vice Minister of War, in charge of military affairs in Shanxi and Xuanda.

From Liaodong Town, Ji-Liao Governor-General to the Ministry of War, and then to the Supervisory Office that can fight behind the scenes, they are all cronies of the prince's party. How come they seem to be more calm and collected than an old man like me on this matter?

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
Xu Jie stroked his beard and considered slowly.

What have the princelings been doing in the past two years?
The rectification of the nine borders and the Beijing camp has begun to show results.

The soldiers of the Beijing Camp were completely renewed, especially the New Army Camp and the Warrior Camp.

Ji Liao Town dared to take the initiative and was able to win the battle. It was a world of difference compared to the previous Ji Liao Town.

With elite soldiers and powerful generals, a mere Wang Gao would definitely be no problem.

What else have you done?
Many ports were opened in Shandong, northern Zhili, and Liaodong. Ships from several major shipping companies continuously transported grain and other goods from the southeast and Southeast Asia to Dagu and Liaodong, part of which was directly supplied to Jiliao Town.

What does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince want to do?
Xu Jie shook his right hand and violently pulled out a few long whiskers.

Training!

Last time, the prince used Xin Ai as a whetstone to sharpen the soldiers of Jizhou.

Now the prince wanted to use Wang Gao as a whetstone to sharpen the soldiers in Liaodong. More importantly, he wanted to see whether the sea transportation that he had secretly supported in the past two years could supply food and supplies after the war.

Wang Gao would die sooner or later, it was just a matter of how he would die. Since that was the case, they were not in a hurry. They first convicted Wang Gao of a crime, then announced it to the world, aroused indignation, and occupied the righteous cause, so that the king's army could march out with dignity.

Why go to all that trouble?

Preparing for Gao Gong’s return to Beijing?

Or is the prince preparing for future wars?
It’s hard to figure out, but why should I figure it out?
I have served Emperor Jiajing for twenty to thirty years, and it is not enough. Do I have to rush to serve this one?
I won’t serve you anymore!

Do whatever you want, I won't interfere!

Gradually, Xu Jie figured out what was going on, but he would never say it out loud in public.

"Uncle, this proposal is indeed appropriate. Send it to Xiyuan for approval."

"Yes."

According to convention, the imperial edict summoning Gao Gong back to the capital should first be sent to the Henan Provincial Administration Commission.

As soon as the imperial edict arrived, the news spread, and the whole Kaifeng Prefecture was in an uproar. Officials and citizens rushed to tell each other, "Grand Master Gao has been summoned back to the capital by the emperor, and he will serve as prime minister!"

A group of Henan officials, including Henan Provincial Governor Tang Yixin and Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Wang Jun, personally escorted the imperial edict and the imperial envoys to Xinzheng in a mighty procession.

Upon hearing the good news, officials, celebrities and great scholars from the prefectures and counties along the way joined the team.

There were some curious people who rode on fast horses and divided their troops into several groups, rushing to Xinzheng, Guide and Luoyang to report the news.

Upon hearing the good news, the famous families in Henan, Guide, Huaiqing and other counties packed their bags and rushed to Xinzheng. First, they wanted to congratulate Gao Gong, who had a bright future, and to make themselves known to him; second, as a native of Henan, they were proud to see Gao Gong return to Beijing as prime minister.

When a curious person rode a fast horse to Gao's house to report the news, Gao Gong was wandering around the countryside to relieve his depression.

After receiving the news, the old servant ran all the way to find his master to tell the good news.

When he found Gao Gong, he was sweating profusely. One of his left shoes had slipped off at some point, and his cloth sock was half-stripped and lying on the ground.

"What, the emperor issued an edict, summoning me back to the capital?" Gao Gong's eyes widened.

The old man wiped his face, his palms were full of water, it was unclear whether it was sweat or tears of excitement.

"Yes, sir. The imperial edict has been sent to Kaifeng Prefecture. The governor of the provincial government, the censor of the provincial procuratorate, and hundreds of officials and celebrities are all rushing to Xinzheng!"

Gao Gong let out a long sigh, held onto the tree next to him, slapped the trunk hard with his palms a few times, and howled to the sky, venting all the resentment that had been accumulating for a long time.

After reading the edict, the eunuch in charge of delivering it said with a smile, "Duke Xinzheng, the emperor is very concerned about you, and he specially asked the inner treasury to allocate 500 taels of silver for travel expenses, and also asked the eunuch to pass on the oral order, hoping that you will return to the capital as soon as possible."

After that, he said without hesitation: "The whole government and the people are looking forward to seeing you, Lord Xinzheng, and hope that you can return to Beijing as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation!"

Tang Yixin, Wang Jun and others also complimented him, saying, "Gao is highly regarded by the public and has the emperor's favor. This time when he returns to the capital, he will surely be able to reform and eliminate corruption and improve the government!"

Gao Gong bowed and looked around, saying, "Everyone, I have prepared a banquet to welcome you. But I will not accompany you. Please forgive me."

Everyone asked in surprise, "What does Gao Gong want to do?"

Gao Gong stroked his long beard and said proudly, "I am extremely anxious and don't want to delay even a moment. I will set off tonight and head north to return to Beijing!"

Everyone looked at each other.

Gao Xinzheng, so impatient!

Two or three days later, all the famous scholars and Confucian scholars who came from various counties and prefectures in Henan came back empty-handed. Gao Gong set off on the same night he received the imperial edict.

These people could only say angrily: "Xinzheng Gong is concerned about state affairs, we admire him!"

Yang Bo, the former Minister of War who was far away in Puzhou, was worried instead of happy when he heard the news.

He wandered in the backyard for a long time with his hands behind his back, then sat in the study to write a letter. He wrote more than ten drafts, but finally burned them all.

(End of this chapter)