I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 19: Gao Gong establishes his authority
"Brother Ruzhen, what's wrong?" Tan Lun called Hu Zongxian's name.

Hu Zongxian replied with a pale face: "Mr. Wenchang wrote to me from Beijing, saying that the situation in Beijing has been very turbulent these days."

"Someone is impeaching Brother Ruzhen?"

"Yes. They all impeached me. Some said I let the soldiers disturb the people and embezzled food and money. Some said I had the army for my own benefit and had evil intentions."

Tan Lun was horrified when he heard this. This was a fatal attack.

"Don't they know that Brother Ruzhen is doing his best to eliminate the Japanese threat in the southeast?"

"So what if they know? In their eyes, I am a remnant of the Yan Party. If I don't get rid of them, it means that the Yan Party has not been completely defeated, and justice has not been upheld."

"Stupid!" Tan Lun shouted angrily, "Brother Ruzhen is responsible for the great cause of suppressing the Japanese in the southeast. How can you abandon the cause just because of one person?"

"Brother Zili, in their eyes, the Japanese threat is just a minor problem, while people like me are the real threat. Once the internal threat is eliminated, the external threat will be easily dealt with."

"What nonsense!" Tan Lun was also angry. "A mustard disease? In the southeast, tens of millions of people have been suffering from the Japanese invasion for more than 20 years. In their eyes, it's just a mustard disease that doesn't hurt or itch?
Factional strife, party unity against dissidents, these scholars who call for the great unity of the world and claim to be for the people of the world, in their hearts are actually fighting factions! "

Hu Zongxian put down the letter, remained silent, and slowly sat down on the chair.

"Brother Ruzhen, Mr. Wenchang said, who is behind the attack on you?"

"Xu Cunzhai, the elder Xu."

"He!" Tan Lun was a little confused. "Lord Xu has always been a man of integrity and loyalty. He is also a prominent family in Songjiang, and his people have suffered greatly from the Japanese invasion. How could he rashly instruct the censor to impeach Brother Ruzhen?"

Hu Zongxian replied with a wry smile: "The Japanese invasion in Nanzhili and Zhejiang has been eradicated, which is a great achievement for Xu Ge Lao. If I insist on eradicating the Japanese invasion in Fujian, it will be bad for him."

"Why isn't it beautiful?"

"Most of Xu Gelao's clansmen have dealings with Zhejiang merchants. In the southeast of the Ming Dynasty, there are two largest merchant forces: Zhejiang merchants and Fujian merchants. They compete with each other, and one rises while the other declines.

Zhejiang is now peaceful, but Fujian is not. Isn’t this a good thing for Zhejiang’s maritime merchants? ”

Tan Lun was so angry that his face turned purple. "How can a minister who assists the government neglect state affairs for personal gain?"

"Lord Xu was born into a Songjiang family with a complicated family background. He was not the only one bound by family ties. Moreover, Lord Xu had been fighting with Lord Yan for many years, so he knew very well where Lord Yan's foundation lay.

The first is Yan Shifan and Yan Donglou, and the second is these people headed by Hu. Now that Yan Shifan has been demoted, Xu Ge Lao naturally points his spearhead at me. He has already torn his face with Yan Ge Lao, so of course he wants to cut the grass and eliminate the root of the trouble. "

Tan Lun was so angry that he clenched his fists and trembled all over. It took him a long time to utter a word, "Ridiculous, ridiculous!"

Hu Zongxian replied helplessly: "Absurd? I don't think it's absurd at all."

"Did Mr. Wenchang say that he would find a solution in the capital?"

Hu Zongxian's eyes flashed, "Mr. Wenchang said that the prince advised the emperor to recall Lord Yan from Jiangxi to the capital and give Lord Xu a warning."

"Knocking?" Tan Lun was stunned, then asked, "Did Lord Xu stop?"

"I stopped. But Gao Xinzheng (Gao Gong) took over again, instructing his followers and followers to file a memorial to impeach me like crazy, treating me as Yan Donglou, the Minister of State Yan, and they will not stop until they kill me!"

"Gao Xinzheng?" Tan Lun didn't know what to say for a moment. "He is the tutor of Prince Yu's Palace. It would be difficult for His Royal Highness to take action against him."

"Mr. Wenchang wrote to say that the emperor issued an edict a few days ago, appointing Gao Xinzheng as a member of the cabinet to participate in the affairs of the government."

"What!" Tan Lun almost jumped up.

Is the emperor praising Gao Gong?

Could it be that he has some opinion of Hu Zongxian?

Once the emperor has some opinion about Hu Zongxian and blames him, the elimination of the Japanese invasion in Fujian and Guangdong will be seriously affected because there is a lack of a person who can lead all parties and preside over the overall situation.

Hu Zongxian said another thing: "Mr. Wenchang wrote to say that Li Shilu (Li Chunfang) was also appointed by the emperor to join the cabinet and participate in the affairs of the government." "In the 26th year of Jiajing, the number one scholar in the Dingwei exam, Li Shilu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel?"

"Yes, Li Shilu is also the tutor of His Royal Highness. He is the tutor of His Royal Highness along with Pan Shiliang and Zhang Shuda, who are both in the same class."

Tan Lun felt a little dizzy after hearing this. This relationship was too complicated, so he asked carefully: "Brother Ruzhen, is there any mystery in it?"

Hu Zongxian shook his head. "I don't know. Mr. Wenchang told me to be patient in his letter. But the matter is of great importance. The fight against the Japanese in Fujian is imminent. I can't be patient!"

He turned to Tan Lun, sighed, and said helplessly and angrily: "Brother Zili, you said that we should do something practical for the country and the people, why is it so difficult!"

Tan Lun was speechless and could only sigh.

The long lament echoed in the study, sounding particularly heavy and sad.

The cabinet and the meeting hall on the left side of the Meridian Gate in the Forbidden City in Beijing.

"Guangdong Governor Zhang Nieping, Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioners Jiang Bo and Chen Gui, Guangdong General Liu Xian, Lieutenant General Wang Chong, Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Tan Lun, and Zhejiang Deputy General Yu Dayou jointly submitted a memorial to report the great victory of Guangdong in suppressing the bandits, beheading the bandit chieftain Zhang Lian and more than 20 other leaders, and more than 2,000 bandits.
The Ministry of War wants to recommend them for merit. Mr. Xinzheng and Mr. Shilu, let's discuss how to propose it."

Xu Jie said while holding a memorial.

Gao Gong said first: "I have read this memorial. It mobilized nearly 100,000 troops from Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, and also drew some troops from Zhejiang to help. After half a year of encirclement and suppression, only the deputy bandit chief Zhang Lian and others were killed. The bandit chief Lin Zhaoxi and others fled to Jiangxi and continued to cause trouble in the local area.

Don't they understand that we must eliminate all the bandits? How dare Zhang Nieping and his gang report their victory and ask for a reward? I would directly issue a bill to comfort them a little, and then issue a strict order to hunt them down and capture the bandit chieftain Lin Zhaoxi and others within a certain time limit!"

Gao Gong's blunt words made Xu Jie feel heavy with anger.

Is there anyone who does things this way?

The people below went through untold hardships and finally wiped out most of the bandit leaders and their followers, and only a few bandit chiefs escaped. You then became arrogant and even shouted for their killing.

After such a draft is approved and then issued in the form of a ministry order, all the people doing the work below will be discouraged. Who will work hard in the future?

Gao Xinzheng, you did this simply because it was I who arranged the suppression of the bandits in Guangdong, and Zhang Nieping, Jiang Bo and Chen Gui, who were in charge of the suppression of the bandits, are my people.

You are so aggressive in your response. You really can't wait to use my face to establish your authority!
The fire in Xu Jie's heart was rising.

I couldn’t defeat Yan Song before, so why can’t I defeat you?
Just as he was thinking about how to fight back, he glanced at the words "Harmony" on the scroll.

"Everyone is harmonious"!
This was written by the Emperor himself and bestowed upon the Cabinet, and it was ordered to be hung in the Cabinet meeting hall.

When Gao Gong and Li Chunfang were added to the cabinet, the emperor specially asked Huang Jin to convey an oral order, asking all the cabinet ministers to be united, harmonious, and work together to share the emperor's worries and contribute to the country.

Xu Jie immediately came to his senses.

Lord Yan took leave and returned to his hometown. In half a year, four other lords resigned, which caused a huge uproar in the court and the public.

It is obvious who the emperor's words and oral instructions are aimed at.

Xu Jie slowly calmed down and nodded calmly: "What Mr. Gao said is very true, then please vote on it."

Gao Gong was not polite either. He picked up a pen and drafted a paragraph according to what he had just said.

Soon, the memorial was handed over with red approval.

"allow."

Then it was distributed to the Ministry of War, who were ordered to carry out the orders.

When the Minister of War Yang Bo received the memorial and saw the draft on it, he was furious. He threw the memorial on the table fiercely and cursed: "Grandma! You sour scholars are ruining the country!"

(End of this chapter)