I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 170 Father is wise and knows how to appoint the right people

Gao Gong, wearing a brand new official scarlet robe with a peacock patch embroidered on the chest and a black gauze official hat, was led by Meng Chong into the side door of the Meridian Gate, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, and soon arrived at the Wenhua Hall.

Meng Chong walked in front with small steps, leaning sideways, and introduced softly: "Mr. Gao, this is where the emperor summoned his ministers when he was the crown prince."

Gao Gong held his head high, walked in a square step, and stroked his long beard: "Well, it's a pity that the emperor has been made the crown prince. I can't go up to the throne to pay homage. It's a pity."

Meng Chongmei smiled and said, "Mr. Gao, it's good that he's back. As long as he's back, there will be no regrets. Let's make long-term plans."

Gao Gong glanced at Meng Chong's face and felt disgusted.

Eunuchs are not good people!

But if he wants to seize power, he must have a eunuch to take care of him in the palace.

For the sake of the overall situation, just hold your nose and bear it.

Gao Gong smiled slightly and said, "Eunuch Meng is absolutely right. We should take care of each other in the future."

Meng Chong was delighted and looked around. Only his confidants were nearby, while outsiders were far away. He continued speaking before reaching Wenhua Hall.

"Lord Gao, the Imperial Household Department is still in the West Garden."

Gao Gong's eyes narrowed. "Still in the West Garden? Where does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince live?"

"Yes. It is said that the late emperor left the Western Garden to the crown prince. Logically, when the emperor ascended the throne and moved into the Forbidden City, the Imperial Household Department should have moved back. But for some reason, they moved back again.

The two eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Teng Xiang and Chen Hong, had to take care of the Imperial Household Department while serving the emperor attentively. It was very inconvenient for them to run back and forth between the Forbidden City and the Western Garden.

The prince said, "You can either stay in the Forbidden City and serve the emperor wholeheartedly, or stay in the Western Garden and approve documents on behalf of the emperor." Teng Xiang and Chen Hong had no choice but to discuss whether Teng Xiang would stay in the Forbidden City and Chen Hong would stay in the Imperial Household Department.

Gao Gong's face was solemn, his eyes sparkling, "The Imperial Household Department approved the document on behalf of the emperor, and it is the emperor's sovereign power that cannot fall into the hands of others."

"Mr. Gao is right. The emperor does not understand these things and has been deceived by the villain."

Gao Gong glanced at Meng Chong and knew what he was thinking.

I guess he wanted to enter the Imperial Household Department, but was rejected. Now he is making trouble in front of me, trying to instigate me to say good things in front of the emperor and get him into the Imperial Household Department.

If a eunuch does not enter the Silijian as a eunuch in charge of writing in the court, he has no right to be called a prime minister.

And from what he said, he wanted to serve the emperor and continue to win his favor, but he also wanted to get the title of eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department so that he could intervene and seize power.

However, Gao Gong agreed with Zhu Yijun's new rules. He could either serve the emperor honestly or work wholeheartedly in the Imperial Household Department to approve documents on his behalf.

I want the emperor's favor and I want power, but it's not possible.

But for Gao Gong, it was absolutely unacceptable to keep the Imperial Household Department in the Western Garden. It had to be moved back to the Forbidden City. In order to achieve this goal, he could temporarily cooperate with the villain Meng Chong.

They soon arrived at the Wenhua Hall. Emperor Longqing stood on the platform, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Seeing Gao Gong and his party approaching, he stood there motionless, looking at Gao Gong with a look of joy.

Gao Gong lifted his clothes and walked up the steps to the platform in front of the hall. He lifted his clothes and knelt on the ground, saying respectfully: "Your Highness Gao Gong pays homage to the emperor! Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!"

Emperor Longqing took a few steps forward, lifted Gao Gong up with both hands, and said with joy and excitement: "Master Gao, you are finally back. I have missed you so much these days."

Gao Gong choked up and said, "I also miss the emperor all the time."

"I'm glad you're back. Come on, Master Gao, let's go to the side hall and sit down to talk. The main hall is too formal and it's uncomfortable to sit here."

Gao Gong had taught Emperor Longqing for nine years and had long understood his personality, which was very erratic. In the past, he was suppressed by the previous emperor and pretended to be polite, but now that he was the emperor, his true colors were revealed compared to when he was Prince Yu.

Emperor Longqing took Gao Gong and sat opposite him in the side hall.

Emperor Longqing sat on the couch at the top, and Teng Xiang brought a round stool to the bottom, where Gao Gong sat, about ten feet away from Emperor Longqing.

"Master Gao, I still remember the hard days I had in Prince Yu's mansion. At that time, Yan Shifan, that bastard, bullied me. As a prince, I couldn't even survive for years.

Fortunately, Master Gao spoke up for justice and stopped the old man Yan Song, confronted him and forced him to lose face. He then asked the Ministry of Revenue to pay us our salary, and we were able to celebrate the New Year.”

Emperor Longqing recounted the past with great joy and gesticulation.

"One year, Master Gao was out of the capital to preside over the provincial examinations. That bastard Yan Shifan was up to no good again. He asked the Ministry of Revenue to withhold the salary of Prince Yu's mansion, forcing me to collect three thousand taels of silver and send it to Yan Shifan's mansion to give him face. Only then did he let go.

Yan Shifan is such a bastard, it's a pity that he was ordered to be executed by my father. If he were still alive today, I would definitely chop him into pieces!"

Gao Gong felt a little anxious when he heard Emperor Longqing talking about the past.

Your Majesty, I am not here to reminisce with you today. I have a lot of ambitions and plans that I want to tell you and hope to get your support. But Gao Gong knew that he had to follow the Emperor Longqing's lead at this time and could not interrupt him. He had to wait until he had vented his emotions and then slowly guide him.

Indeed, the emperor felt very depressed living in Prince Yu's Mansion all those years.

It is normal to reminisce about the past and vent pent-up anger with my old friend today.

After talking for nearly half an hour, Gao Gong took advantage of the fact that Emperor Longqing finally paused for a moment and couldn't help himself, so he went straight to the point.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the Imperial Household Department is still in the Western Garden. This is not in accordance with the rules."

Emperor Longqing looked a little embarrassed, and said awkwardly, "As soon as I ascended the throne, the crown prince submitted a petition to move the Imperial Household Department back to the Forbidden City. It stayed in the Forbidden City for three or four months, but for some reason, I issued another decree to move it back to the Imperial Household Department."

Gao Gong asked bluntly: "Your Majesty, what is the reason?"

Emperor Longqing replied hesitantly, "The Imperial Household Department has been in the Western Garden for nearly twenty years, and half of the former buildings in the Forbidden City have long been occupied. The Imperial Household Department has many documents, all of which are important memorials from the six ministries and local governments, and we cannot be careless.

All of them were crammed together, and one day a fire broke out, nearly burning all the documents. I quickly issued an edict, asking the Imperial Household Department to move back to the West Garden, where there is more space. It’s better to go there.”

What a reason!
Gao Gong suddenly got angry and said loudly: "They have occupied the space, so just ask them to vacate it. The relevant people will be held accountable for the fire, and we will strictly prevent and investigate in the future. Why are they moving back to the West Garden? Your Majesty, this is absolutely not allowed!"

Emperor Longqing showed a somewhat awkward smile on his face, and the side hall was silent.

Gao Gong, who had gotten the point, was about to speak when Wanfu, who had been standing silently beside Emperor Longqing, suddenly coughed a few times. Gao Gong was startled and woke up.

The person sitting opposite him now is no longer his student. His Royal Highness Prince Yu is the emperor of Ming Dynasty, the supreme ruler. He is no longer the lecturer in the palace, Mr. Prince Yu, but a subject!

Gao Gong held back his anger, stood up, and bowed: "I am sorry for my impoliteness, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

Emperor Longqing waved his sleeves and said nonchalantly, "I know that Master Gao is doing this for my own good, but today Master Gao and I are only talking about old times and not discussing government affairs. Once we talk about government affairs, it will dilute the relationship between us as a monarch and a subject."

Now that things had come to this, Gao Gong no longer dared to be tactless.

Emperor Longqing invited him to have lunch with him and asked him about his family situation, the well-being of his elderly and children, and what he had seen and heard in Xinzheng over the past two years.

The emperor and his ministers had a very pleasant conversation, but Gao Gong always felt heavy in his heart, as if a stone was pressing on him.

After seeing Gao Gong off, Emperor Longqing touched his round face and muttered to himself uncertainly: "Master Gao is back. Should he be admitted to the cabinet or placed somewhere else? How should we deal with him so as not to cause controversy among the government and the public?

Forget it, Wanfu, go to the West Garden and invite the prince. We can discuss this together."

"Yes."

Zhu Yijun arrived soon. After he bowed and sat down, Emperor Longqing went straight to the point.

"Boss, Master Gao is my teacher. If we call him back to the capital now, where should we place him? Previously, the plan to call him back caused a lot of criticism and impeachment."

Zhu Yijun replied in a deep voice: "Father, Master Gao was exiled and sent back to his hometown by the Emperor's order because he was involved in a major case in Shanxi. Those bastards instigated you to recall Master Gao during the national mourning period in order to frame you for being unfilial.

How will the people of the world view my father if you recall the people who were demoted according to the imperial edict before the emperor's body is cold? "

"Yes, fortunately you reminded me correctly, Boss. These guys, in order to curry favor with Master Gao, actually used my reputation to tarnish my reputation.

"The late emperor was right. The civil servants are very evil. Yan Shifan was evil before, and these guys are evil today too."

Emperor Longqing changed the subject, "But Master Gao is my master after all. Now that the national mourning period has ended, he has been called back. We, father and son, need to decide where to place him."

"Father, you have to make the decision. I think that Master Chen, Master Yin, and Master Zhang have all joined the cabinet. Among the five cabinet elders, three are old people in the cabinet, and there is already a lot of criticism in the court and the public.

But Master Gao will join the cabinet sooner or later."

Hearing this, Emperor Longqing nodded with satisfaction.

"However, he has been deposed by Grandfather Emperor, and given the current cabinet situation, it is not appropriate to force Master Gao into the cabinet. Father, why not wait a while and let him take charge of one of the six ministries and make achievements before he can join the cabinet."

Emperor Longqing nodded again: "Boss, what you said is very sound. Which department should Master Gao be assigned to?"

Zhu Yijun counted on his fingers, "Mr. Shi Lu is now in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, Ge Shouli is in charge of the Ministry of Works, Hu Zongxian is in charge of the Ministry of War, Huang Guangsheng is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, Gao Yi is in charge of the Ministry of Rites, and there is no one in the Ministry of Revenue, so Mr. Zhang is temporarily in charge of it."

Emperor Longqing suddenly remembered that when he was in Prince Yu's Mansion, the Ministry of Revenue, under the instructions of Yan Shifan, had stopped paying his salary on the pretext of something. He was moved and said quickly, "Let Master Gao go to the Ministry of Revenue and become the Minister of Revenue to take charge of the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhu Yijun replied calmly: "Your Majesty is wise. Master Gao is brave and good at managing finances. The Ministry of Revenue is the most suitable for him. Your Majesty is also good at knowing people and assigning them to the right positions."

Emperor Longqing slapped his thigh and said, "Okay, it's settled. Boss, ask the Imperial Household Department to issue an imperial edict."

Then he yawned loudly, "Ah! It's already past noon, I have to go back and take a nap."

(End of this chapter)