I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 519: I beg the Emperor to make a wise decision

At this time, the capital was in an uproar because of Gao Gong's death.

All kinds of rumors spread wildly in the streets and mansions.

There are storytellers and singers who take risks to catch the attention of the audience, combining the most eye-catching plots from various rumors, making up stories and frantically attracting traffic.

He also successfully sent himself to a new stage, the Jinyiwei Zhenfusi Prison.

On that day, the newly appointed Minister of Rites Pan Sheng, Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang, and Zuo Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple Zeng Shengwu went into the cabinet duty room together and found Zhang Juzheng.

After the four of them sat down, Pan Sheng got straight to the point and asked, "Yuan Fu, what are the rules for the Xiyuan regarding Gao Gong's affairs?"

In the eyes of the public, the Prime Minister is equivalent to the previous Prime Minister. Only when they truly realize the power of the Prime Minister will they change the title.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and sat very upright.

These days he was ordered to form a cabinet, and the emperor quickly decided on the candidates for the six ministers and ministers of the various temples after discussing with him. The candidates for the vice ministers and junior ministers were discussed for several more days, and after several changes, they were finally decided.

Personnel is politics.

The emperor and his ministers worked together to successfully take the first step in the new policy reform.

After finishing the personnel matters, Zhang Juzheng requested an imperial decree to establish the Cabinet Regulations Office and appointed his confidant Wang Zhuan as the Director of Administrative Affairs to be in charge of the office.

The Regulations Department was responsible for formulating cabinet regulations. Regulations issued in the name of the six ministries and temples were called ministry orders, and regulations issued by the cabinet were called government orders. That is, the ministry orders and government orders issued by the cabinet and the six ministries and temples and followed by the provincial governors were all made by the Cabinet Regulations Department and Wang Zhuan.

After Zhang Juzheng reviewed and approved it, he presented it to Xiyuan.

Those that were kept in the middle meant that Emperor Wanli had no objection and the cabinet should follow it.

The imperial edict was modified and submitted, and then revised according to the opinions of Emperor Wanli before being presented to the Western Garden.

If the Royal Assent is rejected, the regulations will either be terminated or completely redrafted.

There are many other matters, and the Wanli New Deal starts with the new system. There are so many things that need to be sorted out by the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng.

He has lost a lot of weight after being busy during this period.

Hearing Pan Sheng's question, Zhang Juzheng's eyes sparkled, "The Emperor has already told Dazhou and me in person that this case should be handled jointly by the Cabinet and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

This cabinet has already dispatched capable officials, together with the censors of the Metropolitan Censorate, to Linqing to conduct an on-site inspection. "

Zeng Xingwu asked worriedly, "Prince, could it be that someone has secretly murdered Lord Gao?"

Wang Guoguang glanced at him and said leisurely, "Sansheng, don't talk nonsense. Someone is trying to murder Lord Gao? Who murdered him? The most important thing is, who ordered it?"

"Rumor has it that it was the former Prime Minister Shao Hu who hired a killer at a high price to murder Lord Gao."

"Nonsense!" Pan Sheng and Wang Guoguang said disdainfully.

"My two ministers, this is not groundless. When Lord Gao was alive, he arranged for Cai Guoxi to serve as the right councilor of Jiangsu. Everyone knows what Sima Zhao was thinking!

Man proposes, God disposes. Before Cai Guoxi could make a move, Gao Ge's department collapsed.

It is said that these days, Lord Shaohu was in a state of panic in his mansion. Upon hearing that Lord Gao was dismissed from his post, the Xu family set off firecrackers for three consecutive days.

He also said that during the Jiajing and Longqing dynasties, Lord Gao and Lord Shaohu had been fighting overtly and covertly, and their hatred was as deep as the sea! Taking advantage of Lord Gao's downfall, Lord Shaohu will settle all old and new scores and put an end to Lord Gao once and for all!"

Pan Sheng shook his head. "Sansheng, why don't you go to the Guanglu Temple instead of going there? Go to the South City Teahouse to tell stories! The stories are so exciting, it's like you're there. Did the editors see these things with their own eyes?"

Zhang Juzheng glanced at the two of them and then fixed his gaze on Wang Guoguang, who had a serious expression on his face.

"Ruguan, do you have anything to say?"

"Yuan Fu, if someone secretly murdered Lord Gao, would they put the blame on you?"

"Put the blame on me?"

"Yuan Fu, during the Longqing period, you and Gao Gong fought openly and secretly for the leading power of the New Deal reform. This is known to everyone in the court and the public.

Now that the Emperor has ascended the throne, the outcome of the battle between you and Duke Gao has been decided, and Wang Lin, Wang Shizhen and other pedantic Confucian scholars have also been cleared out of the court.

However, they had many disciples and former officials, and could not compete openly, so they secretly devised vicious schemes to harm Duke Gao and then put the blame on Yuan Fu.

Kill two birds with one stone.”

Yes, it really is killing two birds with one stone.

In the eyes of the conservatives, Gao Gong, who used the New Deal as a means of speculation, was not a good person either. Get rid of him and then put the blame on Zhang Juzheng, so that they would all be doomed together.

Isn't it happy!

The room was silent. After a while, Zeng Shengwu shook his head and said, "Mr. Gao has left the capital and is returning to his hometown. He has military officers from the Yiwei Division with him, so it will be difficult to get him.

Besides, now Yuanfu is in charge of the cabinet, and all the six ministries and temples obey his orders. Zhao Zhongcheng, who is in charge of the Censorate, is a close official of the Western Garden with Yuanfu, and they have a deep friendship.

Even if they try their best to harm Gao Gong, the Ministry of Justice is ours, and the Censorate is also ours, so how can they put the blame on Yuan Fu?"

Pan Sheng nodded repeatedly, "That makes sense! What Sanxing said makes a lot of sense. These sour scholars are not so foolish to do such a thankless task with no benefits and take huge risks."

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said quietly, "Your opinion, why not explain it in more detail?"

Wang Guoguang's face flickered slightly, and he looked at Pan Sheng and Zeng Shengwu, "What Siming said just now is right. The Ministry of Justice and the Censorate are all our people, so they can't put the blame on us even if they want to.

Then on the other hand, we have a way to start!"

Zeng Shengwu was so frightened that he almost jumped up from his seat and spoke with a slight stutter.

"Ruguan, you...you want to make this case into one where those people harmed Lord Gao and intended to put the blame on Yuan Fu, so as to make it an ironclad case and eliminate the root of the problem."

For Zhang Juzheng, who held great power, it was easy to make the case of Gao Gong's sudden death into such a major case.

When he heard that Wang Lin and others intended to cause trouble at the court meeting on the first day of February, he simply went all out and used his power as a cabinet minister and the Minister of Personnel, as well as the trial implementation of the performance evaluation system, to directly suspend Wang Lin and others from their posts.

The means are very cruel.

Unfortunately, no one expected that the conservatives would use a cover-up plan to use Wang Lin and others who were jumping around as targets to attract everyone's attention.

In fact, Wang Shizhen and others colluded secretly, and reached a tacit understanding with Gao Gong, Ge Shouli and others. They each took what they needed and launched an attack together at the court meeting.

Fortunately, the emperor was a true dragon emperor appointed by heaven. A miracle with all the gods coming down to earth to celebrate shattered everything.

Not only that, the emperor also used the same trick against him.

Didn't you impeach the emperor for warning that there were treacherous officials in the court? The emperor simply dismissed all the cabinet elders, the six ministers, and the ministers of the various temples, which responded to the heavenly signs and silenced the people's complaints. He also took the opportunity to rebuild a new central agency and redistribute power.

Zhang Juzheng, Pan Sheng, Wang Guoguang and Zeng Shengwu who were present all knew that if Wang Shizhen and others succeeded at the court meeting on the first day of February, Zhang Juzheng would be the first to bear the brunt.

He will be doomed to failure, and people like Pan Sheng, who have always been close to him and regarded as members of the same party, will also be subjected to a frenzied counterattack, and their fate can be imagined.

Pan Sheng, Wang Guoguang and Zeng Shengwu could not help but look at Zhang Juzheng who was as silent as water.

Wouldn’t Uncle Zhang be angry?

How can it be!

He was such a proud and arrogant person, and he almost fell into an ambush by Wang Shizhen and others, and his reputation and future were almost ruined. Didn't he hate others?

hatred!
Of course I hate it!

Since they had hatred in their hearts, Gao Gong's sudden death was a great opportunity to make it a big case, and then expand the scope of the case and implicate Wang Shizhen and others who had escaped, as well as their accomplices who had been cheering for them locally, all in one fell swoop to eliminate future troubles!

Pan Sheng and Zeng Shengwu looked at each other, hesitating, should they try to persuade him?
If this matter were to be accomplished, the consequences would be serious.

The current emperor is not a merciful person. Over the years, the ministers who have committed serious crimes in his hands have basically had the same fate: execution.

Even if they were relatives of the same ancestor, such as princes and dukes of various vassal states, they were spared the responsibility of hanging their bodies and left them intact for the sake of being descendants of Taizu.

If this teacher and student reached a tacit understanding, there would be a river of blood, which might be even more terrifying than the Great Etiquette Dispute during the Jiajing Dynasty.

Pan Sheng and Zeng Xingwu were about to speak when they heard someone outside the door: "Master, the eunuchs from the West Garden have come and said that the Emperor has something urgent to tell you."

Zhang Juzheng immediately stood up, bowed and said to the three men, "My three friends, I will go to the West Garden to report first. I will leave you now."

After saying this, he hurried away, picking up the collar of his official robe.

Looking at his back, Zeng Xingwu couldn't help but complain: "Ruguan, look at you, what idea did you come up with!"

Wang Guoguang sighed and did not answer. Pan Sheng said from the side: "Sansheng, you blamed Ruguan wrongly. He noticed that Shuda had this idea, so he deliberately pointed it out in front of you and me, just to get us to help persuade Shuda.

Unfortunately, the emperor's order came at this time, and Shuda went to the Western Garden. If he took the opportunity to report the matter to the emperor and reach a tacit understanding, it would be a shocking case.

I'm afraid you and I will really leave our names in history, but it's hard to say whether it will be a good name or a bad name."

Zeng Shengwu's eyes flickered, and his mind went through countless circles. He suddenly changed his mind, gritted his teeth, and said fiercely: "What are you afraid of! Leave your name in history. History is written by the victors. As long as we win a great victory, we will definitely leave a good name in the future."

Pan Sheng and Wang Guoguang were very surprised. "Sansheng, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Zeng Xingwu bit his cheek and said, "We have seen the methods of Shui Lian Gong and Shu An Gong. If we are left to handle the strange phenomenon from the sky, we will be dead.

Now the struggle has reached a life-and-death stage. If they had won last time, would they have been so kind as to let us go?

Since we are already fighting to the death, don't think about leaving some room for us to meet again in the future. It's either you or I, what's the point of meeting again!"

Zhang Juzheng hurried to Ziguang Pavilion. When Zhu Yijun saw him, he said straight to the point: "Master Zhang, please take a seat. I just received an urgent report that Jiangsu Right Councillor Cai Guoxi hanged himself in the government office.

Before his death, he asked Fang Yizhi, the military commander of Jiangsu Province, to deliver his last will and memorial to the capital city at an express courier speed of 600 miles. It has just been delivered to my hands.

Master Zhang, take a look. "

Qi Yan took the will from Zhu Yijun and handed it to Zhang Juzheng.

Cai Guoxi said bluntly in his will that he was appointed as the right councilor of Jiangsu Provincial Government at the initiative of Gao Gong, one of the purposes of which was to keep an eye on the land survey and population census in Jiangsu.

The world’s wealth lies in the southeast, and the southeast is in the Three Wus.

Before taking office, Gao Gong earnestly instructed Cai Guoxi to complete the land survey and census work in the three wealthy prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang and Changzhou and make great contributions.

At the same time, he also took advantage of the land survey and population census to give Xu Fu and Xu Jie a good beating, allowing the two men who had been humiliated by him to vent their anger.

Cai Guoxi said in his will that when he took office as the governor of Jiangsu Province, everyone knew his purpose and set up many obstacles to make his progress difficult.

Cai Guoxi said that he relied entirely on Gao Gong's strong support and gritted his teeth to persevere, and then he gradually saw the light of day. The hardships involved are beyond words.

However, when the news of Gao Gong's demotion reached Yangzhou, Cai Guoxi was like being struck by lightning.

The Jiangsu officials, knowing that he had lost his backing, quickly changed their attitude and made things difficult for him everywhere. Even the petty officials in the provincial government dared to give him a cold shoulder and deliberately set traps to make things difficult for him.

Finally, when Cai Guoxi received the news of Gao Gong's death from Linqing along the canal, he became completely desperate and immediately decided to commit suicide.

In his will, Cai Guoxi accused the Jiangsu officialdom of colluding with local aristocratic families. Not only did they wantonly plunder, but they also worked together to hide land and evade taxes.

Frame loyal people and deceive the emperor.
At the end of his will, Cai Guoxi cried and said that he was forced to death by the Jiangsu officialdom and local aristocratic families.

His death is not a pity, but it is hateful that the Jiangsu officials and local families joined forces to do evil. They are the biggest gang of rats in the world!
He now declared his will with his death, and reported the detailed situation in Jiangsu to the emperor in the form of a will, requesting the emperor to send an imperial envoy to rectify the administration of Jiangsu, crack down on the powerful families, and clear up the situation in the southeast.

After reading it, Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but break out in a few cold sweats on his back.

He realized that Cai Guoxi's death was closely related to his mentor Xu Jie.

Xu Jie was the leader of a Jiangnan family, and his students and former officials were all over the southeast. Several of his students were in important positions in the court, such as himself, the student of the Prime Minister.

In the Jiangsu officialdom, who would give him face?

In the past, Cai Guoxi still had Gao Gong's protection, and the Jiangsu officialdom gave him some face. Now that Gao Gong himself has fallen, who will give him face?

Adding insult to injury!

If we investigate the Cai Guoxi case, we might end up finding our mentor.

But if we don’t investigate, where is the dignity of the court?

He had just taken office as Prime Minister and had implemented the performance evaluation law, but he sat back and watched this kind of thing happen without pursuing any action. In the local provinces, who will care about their own departmental orders and government decrees in the future?

Zhang Juzheng was hesitant. Zhu Yijun looked at the expression on his face and guessed something. He didn't rush him and picked up another memorial on the imperial desk to read it.

After a few minutes, Zhang Juzheng said in a slightly hoarse voice: "Your Majesty, a few days ago, the former cabinet minister and Minister of Revenue Gao Gong died suddenly at the Linqing Post Station. I was ordered to send a special case team to investigate. Now, the right councilor of the Jiangsu Provincial Government was forced to hang himself by his colleagues and local aristocratic families.

The two cases seem to be related, but they are not the same. Moreover, the case is complicated and confusing, and I am a little confused. "

Zhang Juzheng stopped talking and swallowed.

Your Majesty, these two matters are too big. There are too many things involved behind them, and they also involve me. I really can't handle it, and I don't know what to do.

He knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice: "I beg the emperor to make a wise decision!"

(End of this chapter)