The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 191 Who uses whom
The chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Shixing, suddenly resigned, and not long after, the Minister of Works, Yang Wei, also resigned.

Other officials in the court might still be a little confused, but Shen Shixing and his party were very clear about it.

The little emperor is going to deal with them!
How to do it?

Wang Xijue, Xu Guo and others naturally would not sit idly by and wait for death.

Regardless of the heavy snow, they began to frequently visit important figures from Zhang Juzheng's and Zhang Siwei's old parties in the court.

How are these guys going to fight back?
Early in the morning of the third day, the snow finally stopped, and around noon, the warm sun rose.

After Wanli received the secret report from Luo Sigong, he was no longer in the mood to appreciate the snow scenery.

Wang Xijue was also a disciple of Zhang Juzheng and had extensive connections within Zhang Juzheng's old party.

Xu Guona also came from a merchant family and had close ties with the three major wealthy families in Puzhou. He also had extensive connections among Zhang Siwei's old party.

These two guys joined forces with Zhang Juzheng's old party and Zhang Siwei's old party. Can Shen Yikuan and Zhao Zhigao defeat them?
Should he help cheat again and get rid of Xu Xijue or Xu Guo?

This doesn't seem like a good idea. He wants the civil servants to fight each other, not to unite and fight him.

Now that he has taken action to deal with Shen Shixing and Yang Wei, it is enough. If he continues, it will appear that he is the mastermind and Shen Yikuan is just his lackey.

It was indeed he who instigated this matter, but his purpose was to provoke dogs to bite each other, not to provoke dogs to bite him.

If the dogs still bite him, then his work will be in vain.

So, how do we get those dogs to fight Shen Yikuan and his gang?
He was sitting in the imperial study, frowning and thinking, when Yu Youcai came in with a stack of memorials.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Yu Youcai handed over the memorial with both hands and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel has already selected the candidate to succeed the Minister of Works."

This guy Shen Yikuan is quite fast.

When Wanli opened the memorial, he saw that the Ministry of Personnel had selected not just one, but several.

However, Lu Guangzu, the Nanjing Minister of Works who ranks first, seems to be the most suitable.

This is probably what Shen Yiquan wanted to recommend.

He thought back, "Lu Guangzu seems to be from the same hometown as you, right?"

Yu Youcai nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Lu Guangzu from Pinghu, Jiaxing, passed the imperial examination at the age of seventeen together with his father. Three generations of his family all passed the imperial examination and are very famous in our area.

Lu Guangzu was a Jinshi in the 26th year of the Jiajing reign, a fellow examiner and the Yuanfu. He has served in government for nearly 40 years and is well-known in official circles.

Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing?

This person has been in office for thirty-eight years!
Moreover, three generations of his family have passed the imperial examinations and must be very famous in the local area.

Shen Yikuan probably wanted to take advantage of Lu Guangzu's fame.

This guy is really calculating.

It seems that this guy should be able to defeat Wang Xijue and Xu Guo's alliance with Zhang Juzheng's old party and Zhang Siwei's old party.

It’s just that this guy is a little weak at the beginning, so he needs to be supported secretly.

Wanli thought about it carefully and then asked, "How is Lu Guangzu as an official?"

Yu Youcai said carefully: "Lu Guangzu's reputation as an official is also very good. He and Lord Yuanfu are from the same department. Lord Yuanfu gave him the opportunity to use him, and he did not try to curry favor with Lord Yuanfu.

After the death of the Grand Secretary, many people falsely accused him, but he stood up to speak for him and defended his classmate.

This person is really good.

Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Well, he doesn't look like a wicked person, so he's worth making friends with. You should know him, right?"

Yu Youcai said honestly: "Yes, I know Lord Lu. When I was admitted to the imperial examination, Lord Lu was already a doctor in the Ministry of Personnel. I also visited Lord Lu once.

Although Lord Lu did not use his authority to help me, he did give me a good talk on the ways of being an official, and I really benefited a lot from it.

That's all. Wanli thought for a moment, then gave detailed instructions: "When Lu Guangzu returns to Beijing to take up his post, you should hold a banquet to welcome him and invite Shen Li, Meng Jing, Qian Ji, Zhao Zhigao, Shen Yiguan and the others."

what?
What does this mean?
Yu Youcai was stunned when he heard this.

Seeing this, Wanli asked with concern: "What's wrong? You don't have any money? It's okay. Go to the inner treasury and get 1,000 taels. I'll pay for it."

This is not a matter of money, it's suspected of forming a clique for personal gain.

Yu Youcai said carefully, "Your Majesty, if we gather together, we will have three cabinet ministers and three ministers of the six ministries."

The strength is just about right.

Wanli explained in detail: "Wang Xijue and Xu Guo can almost win over so many people from the six ministries and seven ministers. Now Shen Yiguan and Zhao Zhigao are still a little weak. You have to stand up and support these two fellows.

In addition, Shen Yiquan's purpose is not pure. He wants to use various means to dominate the government and cover the sky with one hand.

What I need is a dog that bites, not a treacherous minister like Yan Song, do you understand?"

Oh, it turned out to be a fake clique to prevent Shen Yikuan from taking advantage of the opportunity to pursue personal interests.

Yu Youcai heard this and nodded slowly, saying, "I understand. I will look forward to Shen Yiguan."

You are indeed talented.

Wanli nodded slightly, and then reminded: "This matter cannot be delayed, you'd better hold the banquet on the day Lu Guangzu returns to Beijing.

You can't let Shen Yikuan take advantage of the situation and let Lu Guangzu think that it was all Shen Yikuan's credit that allowed him to return to Beijing and serve as the Minister of Works.

If this is true, then if Shen Yiguan wants to do something shameful in the future, Lu Guangzu might turn a blind eye or even give him a hand because of this incident. This will harm Lu Guangzu, do you understand? "

Shen Yikuan is really good at playing tricks, and we can't let Lu Guangzu be used by him.

Yu Youcai nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and said, "I understand. However, Your Majesty, I cannot use your money. How about we just forget about the one thousand taels? It's not that I'm broke. It's just a banquet, and I can still afford a few dozen or even a hundred taels."

You are the Prime Minister of the Cabinet after all, what do you mean by dozens or hundreds of taels?

Do you know that this kind of cheap banquet will make you lose face?
You are now pretending to be a big boss of the Zhejiang Party. Can you lose face in front of so many younger brothers?
Wanli shook his head slowly and said, “You are the chief minister of the cabinet. You can’t just have anyone come to any table when hosting a banquet to entertain the cabinet ministers and the six ministers.

You should know Hongbinlou, right? Take this thousand taels and order the best table at Hongbinlou. I guess you'll have to pay dozens or even hundreds of taels."

You asked me to go to Hongbinlou and order a banquet worth a thousand taels!
Is this necessary?
His Majesty said so, so let’s order!
Yu Youcai was stunned for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and nodded, "Your humble servant understands."

Although this guy may not be as clean as water, he is definitely not a corrupt official.

He is one of my most trusted people, and I cannot let him suffer any loss.

Wanli nodded slightly, then pondered: "It's a good thing that you are not greedy or possessive, but after all, you have followed me for so many years, and I don't know how long you will have to work hard in the future. I can't let you suffer any loss.

My business is already run by someone else, so I can't give you any dividends. Next time there's business, I'll let you take 10% of the dividends."

Are there any dividends?

Yu Youcai was stunned for a moment before he bowed repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

He was indeed not greedy or possessive, and he did not have any extravagant habits. A monthly salary of several dozen taels was enough for him.

This banquet that cost over a thousand taels per table was an astronomical figure for him.

However, he was quite clear about Wanli's meaning.

They wanted to use Shen Yikuan to fight against Wang Xijue, Xu Guo, and even the old party of Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Siwei. Now that these guys had an enemy, they would no longer think about how to fight the emperor all day long.

However, they could not allow Shen Yikuan to take advantage of this opportunity to rise up, control the power of the court, and even do whatever he wanted.

As the chief minister of the cabinet, he had to keep a close eye on Shen Yikuan and his gang.

To be honest, he is indeed talented and can understand things at a glance.

(End of this chapter)