I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 185 I am the Prince's Dog
Gao Gong came to the front yard and saw two eunuchs standing in front of a side hall. His eyes flashed and they walked in, holding up their clothes.

Feng Bao sat at the top, holding a cup of tea in his hand. He scraped the lid of the cup with a clang, then brought it to his mouth and took two slow sips.

"Eunuch Feng, I'm so sorry for not welcoming you here!"

As soon as he entered the door, Gao Gong bowed and said with a forced smile.

Feng Bao put down his teacup, smiled faintly, and casually returned the greeting: "Mr. Gao, the threshold of your mansion is high, and we dare not come to your door easily."

The two had an old grudge when they were in Prince Yu's Mansion.

Gao Gong sat down at a distance and bowed slightly towards the West Garden. "Eunuch Feng, what does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince have to teach you?"

"Mr. Gao, you are too polite. You are the emperor's teacher and the Minister of Finance. Who dares to teach you anything?"

Why not bring up that topic?

The high arched temples on both sides bulged outwards with anger, and his hands were tightly gripping the armrests of the chair, with the blue veins on his hands protruding.

Feng Bao covered his mouth, feeling more relieved, and turned to the main topic: "Mr. Gao, His Highness asked me to tell you something. As long as Mr. Gao is willing to put aside his prejudices, concentrate on doing business, and solve the country's problems, His Highness will fully support him.

Lord Gao has set his sights on the Lianghuai salt administration. Your Highness has informed the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate that all the salt inspectors and inspectors you want to arrange will be approved by them and the tickets will be issued as soon as possible."

Gao Gong remained calm, his right hand hidden in his sleeve tightly grasping the armrest of the chair.

The prince supports himself!

That's a good thing indeed.

He was still thinking of ways to get the more than 20 selected disciples to obtain appointments from the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate, and go to Lianghuai and Changlu as Salt Inspectors or Provincial Inspectors.

Gao Gong hesitated for a moment, then bowed to Xiyuan and said, "Please ask Eunuch Feng to thank His Highness on my behalf."

"You are too polite, Lord Gao. But His Highness also asked me to tell you something, and I have to say it whether you like it or not."

Gao Gong calmed down and replied, "Eunuch Feng, please speak."

"The Lianghuai salt administration has been entangled since the Hongwu period. The court has made many reforms to eliminate malpractices, but they can only achieve temporary results, and sometimes the temporary results do not even appear. Today, the Lianghuai salt administration has accumulated malpractices for a hundred years, and its relationship with the local government and Nanzhili is complicated.

Those Lianghuai salt merchants entrenched in Yangzhou and Jiangdu have money in their hands and power behind them. They kill people without shedding blood. Please, Master Gao, make sure your disciples are careful. "

Gao Gong had a complicated expression.

He also knew that the water of the Lianghuai Salt Administration was bottomless and contained countless hidden reefs. If one was not careful, the boat would capsize and people would die.

But if he wanted to realize his ambitions, correct the mistakes of the Ming Dynasty and leave his name in history, he had to make some outstanding political achievements.

At present, the Lianghuai Salt Administration may be his best choice, which can not only alleviate the shortage of silver in the Ministry of Revenue’s treasury, but also achieve success in one fell swoop.

In his mind, more than half of his twenty-odd students had already been abandoned and sacrificed. As long as the remaining half could find solid evidence, he would win.

To do big things, you have to make choices!

The prince now sent Feng Bao to express his support for him, but Gao Gong was half-believing and half-doubting.

But he made up his mind that as long as his disciples could find out the real evidence, he could force the Crown Prince to board his ship and deal with the Lianghuai salt merchants and the forces behind them together.

Gao Gong bowed his hands and replied insincerely: "Your Highness's teachings will be remembered by me."

After hearing what Gao Gong said, Feng Bao didn't care whether he really remembered it or not, because he had accomplished his mission anyway.

He stood up, bowed, and left promptly.

Gao Gong escorted Feng Bao out of the mansion, turned back, stood at the gate of the second courtyard, and looked at the excited disciples in the flower hall. They gathered in twos and threes, made impassioned speeches, pointed out the way forward, and were full of high spirits. He couldn't help but stop.

Back then, I was just like them. I passed the imperial examination with flying colors and ascended to the imperial court. I felt that I had the trust of the world and was determined to put the teachings of the saints into practice.

"Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living and the people, carry forward the unique teachings of the past saints, and create peace for all generations!"

These four sentences were like four balls of fire burning in my heart at that time!

However, the infighting in the court, the deceptions among colleagues, and the scheming between the emperor and his ministers had long since extinguished the fire in Gao Gong's heart, leaving only a pile of ashes.

It is not easy to realize ideals and ambitions. It requires countless corpses to be placed under your feet to form steps, one step at a time. Gao Gong couldn't help but look up at the clear night sky, with a bright moon hanging in the sky.

God, please bless the Ming Dynasty!

Bless these passionate talents! Bless me!
Zhang Siwei's memorial to the emperor regarding the appointment of a lecturer in the Eastern Palace was approved by the Imperial Household Department. He was then transferred to be the Prince's guest, responsible for selecting lecturers for the Eastern Palace's imperial lectures. He instantly became a popular figure in the capital.

Hundreds of Hanlin colleagues, senior examinees, fellow students, and great scholars and celebrities came to visit him, submit essays, and establish friendships.

Our common goal is to tell Zhang Siwei that he is a very suitable tutor for the Eastern Palace. Brother Zhang, please do not miss out on this talented person of mine!
Zhang Siwei writes well, has a solid personality, and does things flawlessly.

He gathered everyone together and held four literary gatherings in a row to make friends through literature.

We invited famous scholars who had a good reputation and did not need to compete for the position of lecturer in the Eastern Palace. We decided on the topic and everyone wrote their essays on the spot. The famous scholars would then comment on the essays and open them to everyone in a fair manner.

In this way, several talented people stood out.

Of course, those who secretly gave Zhang Siwei a lot of money would tell him the topic in advance and let him draft the article one or two days in advance. This is much better than those who are poor or have little property at home but are unwilling to share it with Zhang Siwei.

Zhang Siwei had already secretly selected the two people in his pocket. Not only did he give them topics in advance, he also secretly persuaded great scholars and celebrities to help them become famous.

Soon, the six candidates for the imperial lectures were selected. Zhang Siwei wrote a brilliant memorial and attached the six best essays, which he sent to the Western Garden Silijian for approval.

Wu Chang, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, was sitting in the duty room at Xi'an Gate, his heart beating very fast.

Last time, he played an important role in Hai Rui's impeachment of the Coordination Bureau. He persuaded Hai Rui not to just focus on the Coordination Bureau, but to make it a big one and point directly to the faults of the late emperor.

So Hai Rui really made a big move, submitted a memorial to the emperor on public security, and was sentenced to prison, becoming famous all over the world.

Wu Chang was also successfully promoted from the Director of the Imperial College to the Right Censor-in-Chief.

Today I received another notice to go to Xi'an Gate of Xiyuan and hand in a name card, waiting to be summoned by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The organization remembered me again!

It seems that I have another difficult task to do!
I will never complain about the hardship or fatigue. As long as I can get promoted and make money, I am willing to step forward no matter how hard or tired I am. I am the backbone of the Ming Dynasty officials!
Right Censor-in-Chief Wu Chang!
After waiting for a while, Fang Liang walked to the door of the duty room and said, "Right Censor-in-Chief Wu Chang."

"Here!" Wu Chang jumped up from his chair.

"Go over there and check the badge and search."

"Yes."

After entering the West Garden, Wu Chang followed Fang Liang and walked deeper along the tree-lined path.

The lake surface was like a mirror, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds.

The surrounding area is shaded by green trees, and the buildings and terraces are hidden in the lush greenery.

Nearby, the sunlight shines through the gaps between the leaves, casting dots of golden light, making people feel relaxed and happy.

When they arrived in front of a row of pavilions, Wu Chang was led to a side pavilion, where Zhu Yijun was sitting and waiting for him.

"I, the Right Censor-in-Chief Wu Chang, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Wu Chang, stand up and talk!" Zhu Yijun waved his hand and pointed to a chair not far away, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"I heard from Mr. Dazhou that you did a good job in the Censorate."

"To reply to Your Highness, it was the Minister who praised me."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "I know who you are, so I won't beat around the bush with you. I have something I need you to do."

"Your Highness, please give me your orders. I will go through fire and water and die without hesitation!"

"I'm not asking you to kill the northern barbarians, so you don't need to risk your life." Zhu Yijun smiled and waved his hand, "You should use your strengths. You are good at networking and have made friends with a group of censors in the Censorate. Now it's time for you to speak up."

Wu Chang swallowed his saliva, knelt down, and said loyally: "Your Highness, I am your dog. If you tell me to bite someone, I will call all my friends and bite him to death!"

(End of this chapter)