Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 208 Cabinet Reshuffle
That afternoon.

Zhang Yunxiu's memorial passed through the Tongzhengsi and Silijian and arrived at the desk of Emperor Wanli. Emperor Wanli only glanced at it, put down his pen, and said indifferently: "Send it back to the cabinet for review."

"Yes." Wei Qing agreed respectfully.

He is now the second-in-command of the Imperial Household Department and concurrently the governor of the East Factory. Compared with Zhang Cheng, the eunuch in charge of the seal, his power is no less.

The cabinet was located in the Forbidden City, just a few doors away from the Qianqing Palace. At about the end of the 3:00 p.m., the document was placed on Zhang Siwei's desk.

Zhang Siwei opened it and immediately frowned.

After a quick scan, he picked up his pen and wrote: "What you have reported is not in accordance with the ancestral system, so it is not allowed!"

After finishing writing, Zhang Siwei rubbed his brows, looking exhausted.

Although Zhang Juzheng had left, Zhang Siwei still felt great pressure in the past three months. Zhang Juzheng had been in charge for decades, and his students and former officials were spread across various key government offices.

These days, he secretly began to transfer prominent positions in various departments.

The first person to take action was Wang Guoguang, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. The Minister of Personnel was the head of the six ministries and was in charge of the promotion of officials throughout the country.

Therefore, it is also called "Tianguan".

After Zhang Juzheng left, Wang Guoguang became the number one figure in Zhang's party. As long as he was brought down, the rest of the things would be much easier.

Things went smoothly. He ordered people to collect some evidence of Wang Guoguang's crimes and spread it everywhere.

Wang Guoguang directly confessed his guilt, was placed at home and under investigation.

Just when he was happy, he suddenly discovered a very serious problem - the officials under various departments, although they agreed with him on the surface, were actually pretending to obey him and playing a cold war with him.

In an instant, all government offices were semi-paralyzed.

Adhering to the idea that the law does not punish the masses, these officials became like chickens, insisting on distinguishing between the gender of the new prime minister.

Those who secretly shoot arrows and cannons, those who curse behind your back, and those who watch you make a fool of yourself.

Overtly or covertly, everyone was waiting for him, the Prime Minister, to fail.

After such a barrage of attacks, even though Zhang Siwei was made of iron, his face showed signs of fatigue.

Now he finally understood what it meant to be walking with difficulty and treading on thin ice.

Just at this moment, a clerk walked in.

Zhang Siwei looked up and asked him, "What do you want?"

The clerk replied, "Minister Qiu of the Ministry of Justice said outside that he wanted to see you."

"Ah?! Go and invite him!" Zhang Siwei cheered up and shouted to the clerk.

The clerk led Nuo away, and after a while, he came back again, followed by a white-haired old man in a bright red official robe.

It was Qiu Chu.

When the two met, they sat down with the courtesy of guests.

Since they were old friends, Zhang Siwei didn't bother to exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point and asked, "Brother Mao Shi, what's the matter that brought you to see me in such a hurry?"

Qiu Yu glanced at Zhang Siwei's face and saw that the Prime Minister was getting thinner and thinner. He felt sorry for him and asked, "Prime Minister, it's only been more than a month since we last met. How come you have become so thin?"

Zhang Siwei laughed at himself and replied, "What kind of prime minister am I? I don't have the emperor's trust, and I don't have the support of the officials. I am just a one-man show here."

nodded.

Qiu Chu agreed with this.

Although Zhang Juzheng has resigned from his post in recent days, his influence still plays a role in the officialdom of the capital.

Before he left, he recommended many people, among whom Pan Sheng entered the cabinet as the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace.

Li Youzi was promoted from Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue to Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

This guy flatters people all the time, but he can still become one of the Nine Ministers and the famous Minister of Agriculture.

As for Wang Zuan, he was given the title of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and appointed Governor of Songjiang. The emperor actually agreed to all of them.

Because of his close relationship with Zhang Siwei, Li Youzi, such a bad guy, actually dared to reduce the salary of Qiu Yu in the Ministry of Justice. Originally, when Zhang Juzheng reformed the tax law, he stipulated that all officials in Beijing should convert their physical objects into silver according to the highest market price.

Now, Li Youzi used the excuse that there was not enough silver in Taicang and used rice to reduce the salaries of officials in the Ministry of Justice.

Nowadays in the market, the price of rice is between 150 and 70 cents of silver per stone.

As a result, the salaries of the officials in the Ministry of Justice were reduced in disguise. These days, Qiu Yu was on duty in the government office and always felt that the officials under his command were secretly talking about him behind his back.

Seeing that Qiu Yu had been silent for a long time, Zhang Siwei spoke first, interrupting his thoughts: "Brother Mao Shi, what exactly do you want to see me about?"

"Oh, look at my memory, I almost forgot." Qiu Yu slapped his forehead, leaned forward and asked, "Did you hear about the incident a few days ago when He Zheng, that lunatic, was talking nonsense and fighting with Huang Cheng?"

"I've heard about it." Zhang Siwei nodded and asked, "Do you want to make a fuss about this?"

Without waiting for Qiu Yu to speak, he poured cold water on him: "The prosperity of lectures has become a trend in the Ming Dynasty. There are also many officials in the court who believe in Wang Yangming's teachings. He Zheng relies on this and is fearless."

"Yes." Qiu Yu agreed, and then replied sinisterly, "Instead of using the lecture as a culprit, we can disgust him by making up a charge of mutual fighting and locking Huang Cheng up with him for a few days."

“That’s one way.

"Also, I have sent people to Jiangnan to Songjiang Prefecture to collect evidence of the Xu family's evil deeds."

"Are you planning to attack the Xu family?"

Qiu Yu nodded, his cloudy eyes suddenly gleaming with brilliance: "The Xu family is not only on good terms with Zhang Juzheng, but is also the family of Zhang Yunzheng's ex-wife. Didn't he always say that he would speak for the people? This Xu family is the biggest local thug in Songjiang. It is only natural for me to deal with him!"

Zhang Siwei was slightly moved, and suddenly thought of something, so he frowned and reminded: "Don't forget that Wang Dehan is still in his hands, and he still has a trump card in his hand that can strangle us."

If you investigate his father-in-law, won’t he investigate you too?
In the end, both sides suffer and it's ugly to see everyone falling out.

Qiu Yu had his own opinion, however. Instead of letting the knife hang over his head, it would be better to grit his teeth and let it fall.

We need to make a fuss about this matter, and the bigger the better.

The more chaotic the situation is, the more chances Zhang Siwei, the prime minister, can take advantage of the situation to seize power.

After thinking it over, Qiu Yu decided to give Zhang Siwei a dose of explosive news: "Prime Minister, you allowed me to say something extremely treasonous. Now your situation is in danger. I don't know who is making a fuss outside, saying that Pan Sheng and Shen Shixing may replace you."

Zhang Siwei was stunned, obviously not knowing where Qiu Chu got the news from.

After Zhang Juzheng left.

Yu Youding also withdrew from the cabinet due to serious illness.

Now, the cabinet only has Pan Sheng, Shen Shixing and him.

Pan Sheng had a good relationship with Zhang Juzheng, but Shen Shixing, needless to say, was a fence-sitter, he would go whichever way the wind blew.

In order to dilute the power of a few people.

Zhang Siwei took the initiative to draft a memorial to the emperor, requesting the addition of three more cabinet ministers.

Among them, the most popular ones are: Minister of Justice Wang Xijue, President of the Hanlin Academy Yu Shenxing, and Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Shen Li.

Yu Shenxing and Shen Li were both upright people with a good reputation in the court and they looked down on Zhang Juzheng.

Wang Xijue even offended Zhang Juzheng and was kicked to Nanjing by him.

If these three people were to enter the cabinet, the cabinet would be united.

Now is a critical moment. Zhang Siwei did not want to meddle in other people's business, so he shook his head and denied it: "The Xu family is a big tree that attracts the wind. It is only a matter of time before it falls. The most important thing now should be how to gain the trust of the emperor and the queen mother, and do everything in a safe way."

"What Yuanfu said is very true." Seeing that he was afraid that Zhang Yunxiu would make a big deal out of it, Qiu Yu could only go along with what he said.

Before I knew it, it was completely dark.

Qiu Yu knew that it was time for him to leave, so he clasped his fists towards Zhang Siwei and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)