I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 289 His Highness's Skill in Controlling Subordinates Has Been Perfected
Xu Jie held the imperial edict in his hand, frowned, and remained silent.

Qi Jiguang and Xu Wei presided over the Chahar Campaign.

Hu Zongxian was sent to Guangzhou to take charge of the war in the South China Sea.

Cao Bangfu was transferred to the position of Minister of War and entered the Military Affairs Supervisory Office to assist in military affairs.

What is the prince up to?
"Master, Elder Zhang is here."

Xu Jie quickly put down the imperial edict and shouted, "Please come in!"

Zhang Juzheng walked in, bowed and said, "Teacher."

"Uncle, please take a seat. Someone, serve the tea, the newly delivered autumn tea."

"Yes."

Zhang Juzheng sat down next to him and glanced at the imperial edict that Xu Jie had placed on the desk. "Master, have you received the imperial edict from the inner court?"

"I got it, but I'm a little confused. Come, uncle, please have some tea. This is the white tea from Fuding, it's good tea. Have a taste."

"Thank you, Master."

Zhang Juzheng picked up the teacup, took two sips, and nodded, "Good tea."

"Good tea, but tastes boring."

"Teacher, something is on your mind."

"Last night at the Taiji Hall meeting, Gao Xinzheng stole the show, which is not a good thing for you and me."

"Gao Xinzheng is determined to make progress, which is in line with the prince's wishes."

Xu Jie glanced at Zhang Juzheng, and a hint of confusion flashed in his cloudy eyes.

I am becoming more and more confused about my favorite student. Could it be that he has been assimilated after following the prince for so long?

Xu Jie said calmly: "Gao Xinzheng has caught the prince's eye and is in line with his wishes. I believe he will be able to enter the cabinet soon."

Zhang Juzheng understood the meaning of his teacher's words and said calmly, "Well, the war between the north and the south is going on at the same time, which puts a lot of pressure on the Ministry of Revenue. The food and fodder must be sent before the troops move."

That's it!

Gao Gong was so passionate in the Taiji Hall last night, and it turned out that he had some selfish motives. The taxation of the Ming Dynasty has improved greatly after the prince secretly rectified it.

Gao Gong promoted the land survey, which has achieved initial results, and the land tax in recent years has also increased significantly. With food and money in your pocket, you, Gao Da Huzi, are not worried and you dare to sing a high tone.

If it were during the reign of Emperor Jiajing, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury was so poor that even the mice wanted to move away. Do you dare to be so high-profile?

But Zhang Juzheng is not opposed to Gao Gong joining the cabinet. Why?
Did he reach some tacit understanding with Xiyuan?
Alas, the further I am from Xiyuan, the harder it is to understand the Lord’s intentions.

"Uncle, what have you been busy with these days? It can't be about the King of Liao."

Zhang Juzheng straightened his body and replied, "In reply to your teacher's words, the Crown Prince ordered the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division to send the imperial guards to arrest the Liao King and bring him back to the capital, where he will be tried by Zou Zhengqing of the Dali Temple and Zhao Zhongcheng of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Disciples should avoid suspicion and not get involved in this matter."

avoid arousing suspicion?

Avoid the suspicion!
However, Xu Jie clearly felt that his favorite disciple Zhang Ju was growing rapidly. He was becoming more and more stable in handling political affairs and party struggles, and had learned a little bit of his calmness.

Yes, now that Gao Gong is leading the charge in the new policy, Zhang Juzheng does not need to show off his edge. He is now observing and summarizing the pros and cons of Gao Gong's new policy, gathering momentum and waiting for the opportunity.

He is truly my most proud student.

"Uncle, your impeachment of the King of Liao really helped me get out of the turmoil caused by Cai Chuntai."

Zhang Juzheng did not give a direct answer, but just said: "Master, the royal family spends excessively, but it does not benefit the country or the people. From the lineage of the previous emperor, there is only the emperor. The prince has only one brother, the third prince.

The rest of the royal family is too far away."

Yeah, too far away.

Distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors. For the prince, these distant relatives of the royal family are not as good as the close ministers who can be trusted and used!
"Xiyuan's intention is to rectify the royal family?"

"Master, the nobles in Nanjing should be rectified. Those who are clean and law-abiding should be summoned back to the capital and given houses to stay in. The royal family has been isolated for one or two hundred years, and it is time to rectify it."

Yes, many members of the royal family are five generations away from the emperor and the crown prince. If they are not called descendants of the great ancestor, they are nothing.

It costs millions of taels of silver a year to feed them. It's like raising a group of pigs, and they can be slaughtered for the New Year when they are fat. What's the use of these royal family members except wasting food?

The previous emperor, Emperor Jiajing, once rectified the imperial clan, imprisoning and removing several of them from their titles. But later he lost his enthusiasm and stopped doing so after he was completely flattened.

Now his good grandson has taken over, and his methods are even more ruthless. However, rectifying the royal family is more or less beneficial to local officials and noble families. There is a royal family in the local area, and he is the boss by right. Officials and noble families are suppressed by him, and many things cannot be done!
Xiyuan is willing to move the royal family away, and the local officials, gentry and wealthy people are eager to do so and warmly welcome them!

But would the prince, a man who thinks ten steps ahead before taking one step, easily leave such an obvious gap for the local officials, gentry and wealthy people?
Wait and see.

Xu Jie suddenly remembered an important matter, "Uncle, Hu Ruzhen is the crown prince's most trusted confidant, why was he suddenly sent out?"

Zhang Juzheng was slightly stunned. He stroked his beard with his hand and started to think about something.

After thinking for more than ten breaths, I decided to share some information with my mentor.

"Master, I am also a little surprised. It is well known that the Crown Prince thinks highly of Hu Ruzhen. Liu Daichuan and Cao Dongcun are both qualified to lead the South China Sea war. But Hu Ruzhen was sent out. I am a little confused.

I thought about it last night, could it be the impact of Tsai Chun-tai's incident? "

"The matter of Cai Chuntai?" Xu Jie blinked, "Are you saying that the person behind Cai Chuntai is Hu Ruzhen?"

"It's not that Hu Ruzhen is the mastermind. I just think that Hu Ruzhen and the Southeastern faction, including Wang Yi'e, Cao Bangfu, and Yang Jinshui, are involved in this matter.

There is definitely some contribution to fuel the situation.”

It's normal to add fuel to the fire!

If you start a fight with Gao Gong, I will not only add fuel to the fire, but also add insult to injury.

Why doesn’t it work when it comes to the prince?

Xu Jie was very puzzled. "Adding fuel to the flames is not a big deal, right?"

"The Southeastern School likes to hang a painting in the hall the most. Does your teacher know?"

"What painting?"

"Fishing Alone on a Cold River in the Snow! It is said that at the beginning of the fall of the Qing Dynasty in the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign, when Hu Ruzhen was waiting in Beijing for the late emperor to summon him, and was extremely anxious, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent him a painting titled "Fishing Alone on a Cold River in the Snow."

At the beginning, Zhu Yijun just sent a message, not a painting. But things in the world are like rumors, and a message became a painting.

Fishing alone in the cold river snow!
Fishing alone!

Xu Jie understood.

The southeastern faction headed by Hu Zongxian and Yang Jinshui was the prince's direct confidants, in charge of military and financial power.

He valued him very much and promoted him frequently.

Yang Jinshui is the madman of Chaotian Temple, and now he is one of the four giants in the inner court.

Xu Wei is a commoner, but now he is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Qi Jiguang is now a count and serves as the commander-in-chief of a faction.

If Hu Zongxian had not been too deeply stigmatized by the Yan Party and easily attracted criticism, he would have been appointed to the cabinet long ago. However, as the Minister of War and the Assistant Director of the Military Affairs Supervision Office, he actually held the power over the Ming army and navy.

The prince trusts and respects his closest confidants, but he also has strict requirements for them.

Fishing alone in the cold river snow!
What this means is that you should do your job carefully and not get involved in the factional struggles in the court. The Southeast faction has terrifying power in secret. Once it is involved in the factional struggles in the court, it will seriously undermine the balance of the court.

The Southeastern faction had fanned the flames in the Cai Guoxi incident, which was a taboo for the Crown Prince. In his view, the Southeastern faction showed signs of interfering in the court's party struggles, and he immediately took action to crack down on them.

Find an opportunity to send Hu Zongxian abroad!

Who says he is the leader of the Southeast faction, which is sometimes called the Hu Party?

Hitting Hu Zongxian is a warning to the southeastern faction!

Be careful and behave yourself in the future and don’t make the same mistake again!
As for Zhang Juzheng, who belonged to the same party as the prince but a different faction, the crackdown on Hu's party was indeed a welcome sight.

Xu Jie also realized that the prince's party was secretly divided into three factions by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince: the Hu party, the Zhang Juzheng Chu party, and the Zhao Zhenji party, who was cunning and treacherous and hid in the Censorate.

As for Li Chunfang, he was a cabinet minister and also a celestial official. He had too much power and was very cautious not to form a faction. That was why he had lived in peace until now.

Now that the main forces of Hu's party have all gone to the north and south to fight, Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji can take the opportunity to grow stronger.

After a year or two, the main force of the Hu party returned to the court with a great victory. Under the powerful situation, the Zhang party and the Zhao party could only avoid the attack, and the prince's party was able to maintain internal checks and balances and stability.

He is indeed a good and wise grandson. He is even more skilled and skilled in the art of ruling his subjects than the late emperor.

"If the Crown Prince insists on going north and south, there may be a lot of criticism from the Qingliu. You and Dazhou must be brave enough to take on this responsibility."

Xu Jie gave Zhang Juzheng some encouragement, and Zhang Juzheng understood what he meant. He bowed and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will keep it in mind."

(End of this chapter)