Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 109: Gao Gong accepts gifts and a traitor is sent as an envoy!
Xuanwumen is one of the nine gates in the inner city of the capital, not far from Chongwenmen in the east. It was named according to the ancient system of "wen on the left and martial on the right", which means civil governance and military peace, and eternal stability of the country.

In an alley at the side of Xuanwumen, there is a slightly old courtyard house. Except for the shiny gate that symbolizes status, it is no different from the surrounding houses.

Few people know that this is the residence of Gao Gong, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Revenue.

The sun sets in the west, and the sunset glow seems to be a panacea to heal the world. Its brilliant light shines through the haze that fills the sky over the capital, dispersing the last of the sunlight.

In the dim light of sunset and moonrise, a sedan chair carried by six people was moving southward along Xuanwumen Street, one of the few prosperous streets in the inner city, heading towards the main gate of the courtyard house in the side city.

On weekdays, Gao Gong would always open the curtains of his sedan chair while sitting in it. The expressions and conversations of the wine shops and cart drivers on both sides of the street would arouse his interest.

Today, the weather was unusually hot and humid. We had already passed Qipan Street, but the curtains of the sedan chair were still closed. Gao Gong, who was sitting in the sedan chair, had his eyes slightly closed, and was obviously in deep thought.

Since the imperial court wanted to negotiate with the Tatars, it had to send an envoy group to Tatar. The candidate for the ambassador was determined after discussion by the cabinet and also approved by the emperor. He was Wang Jiaping, the editor of the Hanlin Academy.

However, the cabinet discussed the candidate for deputy envoy of the mission several times but was never satisfied.

As an ambassador, all he needs is the courage of a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger. However, as a deputy envoy, he needs to be able to accurately judge the psychological bottom line of Tatar Khan Altan Khan during the negotiations so that the court can gain the greatest benefit from Hananji's surrender. He needs to consider more.

When he returned to his doorstep, Gao Gong had to interrupt his thoughts, opened the curtain of the sedan chair, and got out.

Butler Gao Fu stepped forward and said, "Sir, a guest has arrived with a valuable gift."

"Oh? Is this true?"

Gao Gong paused. Everyone knew that he had a bad temper and that he would not tolerate any injustice. How could someone dare to give him a gift?

"What's your last name? What's your name? And what's your background?"

"My surname is Shen, my given name is Weijing, and I am from the famous Qingxi Shen family in Pinghu."

"What a wealthy family!" Gao Gong praised, but his tone was full of joking.

As a Grand Secretary of the current dynasty, he was familiar with these famous families. The Qingxi Shen family originated from a famous family in Wuxing.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, they migrated from Guangchen to Qingxi and other places and settled there.

They lived together in a clan, and the family was large and prosperous. After entering the Ming Dynasty, there was considerable progress. The family was rich and no longer concerned about industry.

Since Gao Fu said that the gift brought by Shen Weijing was a generous gift, it must be a generous gift indeed.

"How did you become an official?"

"Replying to the Lord, I donated a grain manager to the village." Gao Fu replied.

There were many ways to donate money to become an official in the Ming Dynasty, but they can be roughly divided into four types.

Donate to become an official, donate to become a social status, donate again to become an official, donate to become a student.

Although the Qingxi Shen family is a famous family, they have been engaged in business for generations. If they are not well-educated and want to change their background, they can only donate money to become an official.

In the Han Dynasty, donating money to become an official was called buying an official position and selling titles, which meant that the official position was purchased by spending countless amounts of money and grain.

The reason why the Ming Dynasty was in this state was that after the Battle of Tumu, the court was in financial difficulties and had no choice but to resort to such measures.

In the Ming Dynasty, from the Zhengtong period to the Chenghua period, to the Hongzhi period, the Zhengde period, and the first forty years of the Jiajing period, the imperial court had never been wealthy, so the practice of donating money to become an official was retained.

Gao Gong showed undisguised disgust and asked, "How did you get to Beijing? Which government office do you work for?"

"Replying to the Lord, in the 34th year of the Jiajing reign, Shen Weijing participated in the fight against the Japanese pirates. During the Wangjiangjing breakout, he rescued Hu Zongxian, the governor of Zhejiang. The Qingxi Shen family had long had business dealings with Japan, and Shen Weijing was fluent in Japanese. In order to repay the life-saving grace, Governor Hu recommended Shen Weijing to the Huitong Hall, and Shen Weijing has been working in the Huitong Hall ever since."

Huitong Pavilion.

It was the place where the imperial court received foreign guests.

Gao Gong suddenly remembered that when Japanese envoys came to the Ming Dynasty to express their dissatisfaction and declare war on the Ming Dynasty, it was Shen Weijing who was responsible for receiving them. Gao Gong thought about it for a while, raised his hand and said, "Let's meet in the study."

Scholars attach great importance to etiquette and literature, and their study is not to be entered lightly. Being able to meet guests in the study means that the host does not regard the guests as outsiders.

Holding a valuable gift in his hand, Shen Weijing excitedly followed Gao Fu to the second prime minister's study. As soon as he entered the door, he bowed to the ground and said, "Greetings, Mr. Xuan!"

Since the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, the custom of calling officials "Weng" has emerged in official circles. That is, an elegant character is chosen from the name or pseudonym, and the character is suffixed with "Weng" to show respect.

Weng also means father or grandfather, and is often used by subordinates to address their superiors.

Gao Gong was named Zhongxuan, so he was also known as "Xuan Weng".

Shen Weijing’s rank was lower than Gao Gong’s, and he was also older than Gao Gong. This affectionate call from him was more affectionate than calling him his own father.

"sit down."

Gao Gong sat there and raised his hand, motioning Shen Weijing to get up and sit on the stool to chat.

After Shen Weijing thanked him, he sat on the stool respectfully. It was more like squatting than sitting, as his butt only touched one-third of the stool and he didn't dare to sit down completely.

"Many people in the court know my personality. I like to be straightforward and don't like beating around the bush. Tell me, what is the purpose of your visit?"

Gao Gong is a man of sturdy build, with a square face, a big nose, eyes of medium size, and two thick eyebrows like a swallow spreading its wings. His eyes are bright and lively, his face is reddish brown, and his beard is thick and long. When he speaks, his voice is loud and clear, giving people the impression of being intimidating without even being angry.

Shen Weijing, who was used to beating around the bush in the officialdom, was a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. But seeing Gao Gong's serious expression, he knew that what Gao Gong said was not a lie, and hurriedly said: "Mr. Xuan, I heard that my Ming Dynasty wants to negotiate with the Tatars about the Han Naji incident. I want... to be on the list of envoys."

If our side is at a disadvantage in the negotiations between the two countries, then no matter how the talks go on and what the outcome is, the diplomatic mission will not end up with anything good.

But if we have the advantage, the situation will be reversed. No matter how we negotiate, it will be an opportunity to gain credit and rise to the top.

In short, Shen Weijing, who was the deputy envoy of Huitongguan and held the ninth rank, wanted to take this opportunity to "transfer".

Gao Gong saw through who Shen Weijing was, but he didn't expose him. He asked curiously, "Then why don't you go to the Prime Minister's residence to pay your respects? Wouldn't that be better?"

"Mr. Xuan, it may be a little difficult to find the Prime Minister. Now, there are two ways to evaluate officials: one is the civil service examination presided over by the Cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel, and the other is the performance evaluation presided over by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. There is a lot of communication between the two, and I am afraid of running into trouble." Shen Weijing said cleverly.

"So you came to me?"

"Mr. Xuan is a wise man!"

Looking at Shen Weijing's flattery, Gao Gong held back his scolding. Thinking of the selection of the deputy envoy to the Tatar embassy, ​​he thought for a moment and said, "Go find the Prime Minister and tell him that I asked you to come to the palace."

"Mr. Xuan wants me to go to the Prime Minister again to lobby for something?" Shen Weijing said with his eyes lighting up.

In official circles, people are not afraid of giving gifts, but they are afraid of people not accepting gifts. The more people accept gifts, the better it is for them.

"Maybe." Gao Gong neither nodded nor shook his head.

Shen Weijing couldn't contain his excitement and quickly stood up and was about to go out.

"That thing?" Gao Gong reminded deliberately.

Without even turning his head, Shen Weijing said, "This is a gift from my humble servant. Please keep it, Mr. Xuan."

After Shen Weijing left.

Gao Fu walked into the study and carefully picked up the gift box. "Lord, what should we do with the Xuande furnace in here?"

"Take it to the cabinet tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)