The struggle for the throne during the Jiajing reign

As soon as he finished speaking, he tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. The strong liquor burned through his internal organs as it went down his throat, just like the burning resentment in his heart.

Zhao Zhenji took another cup of wine, his expression calm, and sighed softly: "The heart of the emperor is unpredictable, and the officialdom is unpredictable. We scholars only ask that our hearts do not fail the country and our actions do not fail the people. That is enough."

Having said that, he raised his cup and drank it all. The cup fell to the table with a soft thud, which was particularly clear in the quiet pavilion.

"Gentlemen, let us strive together!"

The group of upright officials below the pavilion bowed in unison, none of them speaking. Many of them had followed Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji to block the gate, and it was even their suggestion to do so.

When the incident occurred, only these two people paid the price, while the rest were unharmed, which made them feel somewhat ashamed.

Just as the two were about to set off along the official road to Tongzhou Wharf and head south along the canal, someone suddenly shouted from afar. Someone recognized the carriage and quickly grabbed Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji.

"Please wait a moment, Suqing Meng Jing. I think that looks like Minister Wen's carriage."

The crowd immediately made way. After the audience with the emperor that day, Minister Wen fell ill upon returning home. The next day, his son and nephew submitted a memorial requesting retirement, which the emperor approved. The Wen family has already begun packing up their valuables and selling their residence in the capital.

No one expected that the old Minister would come today. Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji were also very surprised. Given their ranks, they were not qualified to be seen off by the dignified Minister of Personnel, and they usually had no contact with each other.

Soon, Wen Yuan, pale-faced and trembling, was helped off the carriage by his nephew. Clearly, facing the emperor's might had really made him seriously ill.

"Old Minister, what brings you here?"

Xu Jie stepped forward to help Wen Yuan up, but the old man grabbed his wrist instead: "Zisheng, I will be leaving the capital soon. It's hard to say whether my crippled body will be able to return to my hometown alive. Let's just consider what happened between us in the past as history."

Xu Jie's brow twitched, and the others silently took a few steps back. They had also heard about the feud between these two.

It wasn't complicated. In the twenty-sixth year of the Jiajing reign, Zhou Yong, the Minister of Personnel, passed away, and Wen Yuan took over as Minister of Personnel and was granted the title of Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

At that time, Xu Jie was serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. His predecessors, Ministers Xiong Jia and Zhou Yong, valued Xu Jie highly and regarded him as their successor. They taught him personally and never refused anyone they wanted to promote.

After Minister Wen took office, he acted like a senior, made arbitrary decisions, and deliberately suppressed Xu Jie. In the end, Xu Jie had no choice but to petition to be transferred out of the Ministry of Personnel in order to avoid escalating the conflict.

Although Xu Jie has now risen to the position of Minister of Rites, which is of the same rank, the Minister of Rites is still slightly inferior to the Minister of Personnel. Therefore, Wen Yuan's visit to see Gao Gong and Zhao Zhenji off is a minor matter, while his efforts to resolve the conflict with Xu Jie are of paramount importance.

"You old scoundrel!" Xu Jie couldn't help but grind his teeth inwardly. "How could I possibly say no in front of so many people?"

He has a good temper, but it wasn't innate; it was something that was gradually cultivated by others.

Back when he was in the Ministry of Personnel, both ministers took a liking to him, introduced him to people, helped him recognize talent, and allowed him to learn the skills that only high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Personnel could learn.

He studied diligently and earnestly. Xiong Jia patted him on the shoulder and said, "Zisheng, this position will be yours in the future."

Later, Xiong Butang left, and Zhou Yong came. Zhou Yong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Zisheng, do a good job. You will be in this position sooner or later."

Later, Minister Zhou left, and Wen Yuan came.

On his first day in office, Wen Yuan summoned him to the duty room and made him stand in front of the desk for half an hour. Wen Yuan then sat behind the desk and flipped through his manuscripts, turning them very slowly. After finishing, he closed the book and placed it on the corner of the desk. Then Wen Yuan looked up at him and said a sentence.

"Minister Xu, I have read all your evaluations over the years. Both Xiong Gong and Zhou Gong have spoken highly of you. But when I appoint people, I don't look at what others say; I only believe what I see myself."

From that day on, his proposed selection plan was rejected, the list of officials he recommended was suppressed, and a case he was handling for evaluating merits was personally transferred by Wen Yuan to another physician.

In the end, he didn't go to find Wen Yuan; he knew it would be useless.

During this period, everyone in the Ministry of Personnel was watching. Most of the officials who had once surrounded him gradually dispersed. Those who dispersed would not admit that they were opportunists; they simply stopped coming.

They stopped waiting for him in the corridor, stopped waiting outside the duty room, and stopped praising his selection plan sentence by sentence. But they also stopped praising others; they just started avoiding him.

He endured a year, handling every official matter flawlessly, and every document he submitted was well-reasoned and without error.

Upon seeing Wen Yuan, he bowed respectfully, his manners so impeccable that Wen Yuan could find no fault with him, yet he was still completely suppressed and had no room to breathe.

The following year, he submitted a memorial requesting to be transferred out of the Ministry of Personnel. The memorial did not mention Wen Yuan at all, but only said that he had been in the Ministry of Personnel for a long time and was afraid of becoming complacent.

His Majesty did not allow him to resign from his position as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but instead appointed him to concurrently manage the Hanlin Academy. He never went to the Ministry of Personnel again after that day.

Over the years, he has walked steadily and slowly, step by step, even more steadily and slowly than when he was in the Ministry of Personnel, because he knows that Wen Yuan kicked him out of the Ministry of Personnel not because he did anything wrong, but because he did too well.

Xiong Jia said he was good, Zhou Yong said he was good, and everyone in the Ministry of Personnel said he was good. Wen Yuan didn't need a Left Vice Minister whom everyone praised; Wen Yuan needed an obedient and non-threatening Left Vice Minister.

If that's all there is to it, it's really nothing. The officialdom is like a battlefield; no one is born to give way to anyone or to promote anyone.

But what he hated most was that Wen Yuan had driven him out of the Ministry of Personnel, yet he was still suppressed by Yan Song. The selection process in the Ministry of Personnel required Yan Shifan to review it before it was Wen Yuan's turn to review it, which was truly the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Such an old scoundrel still had the nerve to grab his wrist and say, "Zisheng, let's just forget about what happened between us before."

"Lord Wen." His voice was not loud, but steady, as steady as every step he had taken over the years. "I have long forgotten about the past."

He wore a smile, a smile that was neither too deep nor too shallow, just right—the kind of gentle smile a Minister of Rites should have when facing a veteran official of three reigns, and when in front of his upright colleagues.

Humble, with a touch of junior's respect for senior.

Xu Jie gripped Wen Yuan's arm tightly and said, "I only remember that everything we did was not for personal grudges, but for the sake of the Ming Dynasty."

As long as it relieves the worries of the ruler and father, what do other things matter?

"Yesterday, I heard that you spoke so passionately before the Emperor, which I truly admire." He paused slightly, his gaze sincere, his tone carrying a hint of genuine regret: "I only hope that you can stay in the capital and continue to be in charge of personnel selection, choosing virtuous and capable officials for the court and rectifying officialdom. That would be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty."

We are willing to jointly submit a memorial to Your Majesty, earnestly requesting that you rescind your decree!

...............