Chapter 438: An excuse for sending troops
Wang Shizhen opened the door and greeted the officials of the Xingren Department into the house very respectfully.
The officials of the Department of Pingren took out the cabinet order and announced to Wang Shizhen that he would be reactivated and transferred to the position of Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Rites.
Wang Shizhen's position before his father's accident was Shandong Bingbeidao. Bingbeidao was considered to be a censor who also served on special military tasks. It was a key position in the Ming Dynasty where civil and military forces were used to control military affairs. He was lower in rank than the governor, but he could also be regarded as an expatriate official in the capital. the sequence of.
Bing Beidao is a fourth-rank official, and the official of the Ministry of Rites, Wailang, is also a fourth-rank official. Such a transfer can only be regarded as a level transfer, not a promotion.
When Xingrensi came to visit, Wang Shizhen's family was holding a cultural gathering. Everyone looked at Wang Shizhen to see how he would respond to the imperial conquest.
Wang Shizhen raised her hands to the officials of the Pingren Department and said:
"Dad Xingren, Wang has to stay in mourning for his father for another three years. I'm sorry that I can't obey the order."
Everyone looked at Wang Shizhen with even more admiration.
In fact, Ding You's three years of mourning does not actually refer to the complete three years, but the third year.
Twelve months after the death of parents, it is the first year, and the first month of the second year, that is, the Xiaoxiang Festival is held in the 13th month.
Twenty-four months later, in the second year, the Daxiang Festival was held in the first month of the third year, that is, the twenty-fifth month.
Then one month later, on the twenty-seventh month, the Kui Festival, also known as the Jifu Festival, will be held, and then the observance will end.
The theoretical three years are up. At this time, Ding You's officials can resume their official duties.
In fact, as long as a relatively high-ranking official kept his filial piety until the Xiaoxiang Festival in the thirteenth month, the emperor would issue an order to seize love and let him resume his life.
After all, three years is a long time in any official's career. If you suddenly go home for three years when your official career is at its peak, your day lily will be cold when you come back.
However, in terms of etiquette, there is also a saying of observing filial piety for six years.
This kind of thing often happened in the Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, because the official selection system at that time mainly promoted filial piety and integrity, and filial piety and integrity were to examine a person's virtue.
In order to be able to ascend to the throne, some filial sons began to limit the time of observing filial piety, and there were even cases of observing filial piety for ten years beside the grave of their parents after their parents passed away.
After taking the imperial examination, most officials hated having to observe filial piety, and no one mentioned the six years of filial piety anymore.
But after all, Confucianism emphasizes filial piety. Wang Shizhen proposed to observe filial piety for six years, and the officials of the Xingren Department could not force him to serve as an official.
Everyone present suddenly realized that when Wang Shizhen arrived in the capital, he never drank alcohol or laughed at the banquets and cultural gatherings held. Moreover, they all wore plain linen clothes. It turned out that he was still observing filial piety for his father!
Now everyone praised Wang Shizhen as a filial son.
When the news reached Zhang Juzheng's ears, Zhang Juzheng did not comment and just asked the officials of the Pedestrian Department to step back.
During this period, Wang Shizhen held several cultural gatherings, and Zhang Juzheng's son Zhang Jingxiu also eagerly wanted to participate.
Seeing his father coming back, he immediately asked: "Father, has Wang Yuanmei agreed to resurrect?"
Zhang Juzheng sneered and said: "He said he would continue to observe filial piety for his father for three years and rejected the imperial decree."
"Ah?"
Zhang Juzheng said with a sneer . "If you really want to observe filial piety, wouldn't it be better to stay in Suzhou to observe filial piety? Why go to the capital?"
Zhang Jingxiu immediately understood what his father meant and said, "Father, has Wang Yuanmei joined Southeast?"
Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "Su Rulin He is the best at using time. He must have sent Wang Yuanmei to the capital to alienate the ministers of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Jingxiu looked at his father and asked worriedly: "Father, what are you going to do with Wang Yuanmei?"
Zhang Juzheng said: "Do nothing. ."
"Huh?"
Zhang Juzheng did not hesitate to educate this smart son.
Moreover, rather than studying hard, matters such as politics require face-to-face teaching, so Zhang Juzheng explained:
"Wang Shizhen refused to be conquered by the court in the name of keeping filial piety. If I jailed him for this, and what happened to his father, how could it be possible? Doesn't it make it more obvious that Ming Dynasty is persecuting talents?"
"When hunting, even the most harmless deer cannot be taken lightly when it is the strongest." "
Now is the time when Wang Shizhen's literary reputation is at its peak, and he must not be touched. ."
"Only when you make a mistake or get injured is the time to take action. Do you understand?"
Zhang Jingxiu thought of the time when Gao Gong was in power and his father lived in seclusion in Huguang. He nodded and said, "My son understands."
Thinking of this . Wang Shizhen was not in danger for the time being, and Zhang Jingxiu breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Juzheng looked at his son and said, "During these days, you can go to Wang Shizhen's literary conference after reading." "
Ah?"
"Being able to get in close contact with your enemies and observe them to find their weaknesses is also a good thing for politicians. A skill that must be learned."
"You go to the literary meeting and come back and tell me Wang Shizhen's purpose and what his weaknesses are." Zhang Jingxiu
said with a straight face: "Yes, father!"
When his son left, Zhang Juzheng's mind came to mind That night, I met Su Ze at Lingji Palace.
At that time, Su Ze went to the capital to rescue Yu Dayou. At that time, in order to rescue Yu Dayou, Su Ze wrote a book called "The Complete Biography of Yue" that became popular all over the country and wrote Yu Dayou as Yue Fei.
This book can be said to have greatly weakened the political prestige of Xu Jie, who had just come to power, and even made the southeastern provinces alienate from the imperial court.
That night Su Ze argued with Gao Gong Zhang Juzheng, leaving them speechless.
Later, he gave lectures in Lingji Palace, and the streets of the capital were deserted.
Thinking about it now, could it be that Su Ze was already preparing to rebel at that time?
But the Ming court did not punish Su Ze at that time, and now it cannot arrest Wang Shizhen for no reason.
Because they were the Wen Sect of the time.
But Zhang Juzheng had too many enemies. Wang Shizhen was quickly forgotten by him, and he had to deal with other enemies.
Seeing these memorials, Zhang Juzheng returned to work.
First, there was a private message from Liu Shiyan of Huguang. Then Xu Xuemo, the prefect of Jingzhou, took action in Jingzhou and arrested several distant relatives and domestic slaves of Zhang Juzheng.
Zhang Juzheng rubbed his forehead. He had been at odds with Xu Xuemo when they were in Huguang. Xu Xuemo was also stubborn and determined to go against him.
But it happened that King Jing rebelled at that time, and it was Xu Xuemo who personally led the troops to stop King Jing, which was a great contribution to the preservation of Huguang.
Moreover, Xu Xuemo was an upright and honest official, his family had no money, he treated his subordinates well, and his official reputation in Huguang was very good. If Xu Xuemo is dealt with without reason, it will cause dissatisfaction among Huguang officials.
Now Huguang is the front line and the granary of the Ming Dynasty, so there must be no trouble.
After Zhang Juzheng became prime minister, Xu Xuemo no longer impeached Zhang Juzheng, but made trouble for Zhang Juzheng's family in Jingzhou every day.
Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and decided to transfer the troublesome Xu Xuemo away from Huguang, but where to go?
Zhang Juzheng had another headache.
Putting this private letter aside for now, the next one is a memorial for the imperial envoy of Datong to impeach the Li family of Qingyuan Bo.
The content is that Qingyuan Bo destroyed the tribute market and illegally smuggled iron bows and arrows into the grassland.
Zhang Juzheng's head hurt even more when he saw this memorial.
Now that Zhang Juzheng is able to govern, in addition to his personal strength, he also relies on the authority of the emperor.
It was precisely because Emperor Longqing was paralyzed and the emperor's edict to worship the prime minister was that he transferred the imperial power to Zhang Juzheng at this time, so Zhang Juzheng was able to quickly take control of the Ming court.
Today, there are many people under Zhang Juzheng who are still loyal to the emperor.
Zhang Juzheng certainly hopes that this state will last forever, but this is obviously wishful thinking on his part.
Because the emperor's physical condition is also changing.
If ordinary people get wind disease, they will die in a few months.
Even if the emperor received the best care, two or three years would be his limit.
When Emperor Longqing died, his only son, Concubine Li's son Zhu Yijun, would naturally inherit the throne.
If Zhang Juzheng still wants the banner of imperial power by then, he will have to cooperate with Concubine Li, who has become the Queen Mother, in order to continue to obtain the authorization from the royal family.
But Uncle Qingyuan was Concubine Li's father. Last time, Zhang Juzheng had confiscated all the horses smuggled by the Li family. If he attacked the Li family again, he would completely break up with Concubine Li.
Zhang Juzheng could only temporarily suppress the impeachment letter and send someone to beat the Li family first.
Next is the memorial to impeach Li Chengliang from Shandong. Now Zhang Juzheng has an even bigger headache.
Li Chengliang acted domineeringly in Shandong, treating the New Army in the three towns as his own private army, and treated Shandong officials like domestic slaves.
But after suppressing the Liangshan heroes, Li Chengliang relied on his military exploits to become even tougher, but the Ming court couldn't do anything about him.
Although Zhang Juzheng had an unpleasant cooperation experience with Li Chengliang, at this time he and Li Chengliang were very close political allies, both internally and externally.
As a political figure, Zhang Juzheng was naturally able to distinguish between his personal likes and dislikes and political gains and losses.
Naturally, he didn't like people like Li Chengliang, but the new army led by Li Chengliang was the military guarantee for Zhang Juzheng to remain in the court and implement reforms.
Zhang Juzheng was also Li Chengliang's backer. He was able to obtain a steady stream of supplies in Shandong and the logistical supplies of the Ming court, all because Zhang Juzheng supported him in the capital.
Zhang Juzheng could only suppress these impeachment memorials.
Zhang Juzheng suddenly understood the helplessness that his mentor Xu Jie and his friend Gao Gong had when they were in power.
But he quickly cheered up. In addition to these troubles, the Mingting New Deal has been fully advanced, and he still has a lot to do!
In June, the weather was gradually getting hotter. Shen Mingchen's uncle and nephew, who had just returned to Nanjing from the north, were still not used to the weather in Nanjing.
As the urban population increases, Nanjing itself is surrounded by mountains on three sides, making it difficult for hot air to diffuse out.
Temperature observation data in the past few years have proven that Nanjing is the hottest city in the entire South Zhili, and it is also called the "furnace" by the people in South Zhili.
After Shen Mingchen's uncle and nephew arrived in Nanjing, they immediately went to the cabinet to report, and were then led to their new posts by various ministers.
However, after Shen Yiguan took up the post of Chief of the Pedestrian Department of Honglu Temple, he was immediately summoned to the Governor's Mansion by Su Ze.
Shen Yiguan was always calm, but he was still a little nervous while waiting for Su Ze to receive him.
Soon the department officials led Shen Guanyi into the back house of the Governor's Mansion.
Today, Su Ze did not show off his steam engine. Instead, he put on a robe and formally met with Shen Yiguan.
Shen Yiguan was even more nervous. Su Ze chatted with him for a while and said,
"I'm going to send you to Annan."
Shen Yiguan's expression did not change at all, but Su Ze asked in surprise:
"You don't seem surprised?"
Shen Yiguan's expression did not change. Yi Guan Yi nodded and said: "Grand Governor, from the questions of this year's tribute examination and the reports about Annan in newspapers these days, my subordinates know that the Grand Governor is going to take action against Annan." Su Ze looked at Shen Yi Guan approvingly
. A person who has served as the chief minister of the cabinet in history.
Shen Guangyuan was able to read and write at a young age. When he was in charge of the "Jingshi News" in Jingshi, he also wrote many insightful articles.
Especially the article he recently wrote about the contrast between the power of the ruling class and the peasant uprising. After reading it, Su Ze, who traveled back in time, felt that what he said was profound, so Su Ze transferred Shen Mingchen's uncle and nephew back to Nanjing.
"Now that you know it, tell me, what do I want you to do in Annan?"
Shen Yiguan regained his composure. He had obviously thought about this problem and said confidently:
"The Governor asked me to go to Annan, it must be to win over Annan. Some of them are leaning towards our Chinese forces and at the same time creating excuses to send troops to intervene in Annan affairs."
Su Ze looked at the young man and said with satisfaction: "Okay! Then tell me how we are going to intervene in Annan affairs."
Shen Yiguan has already After doing some research, he said:
"Annan is now in the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The Li Dynasty controlled by the powerful minister Zheng Jian in the south and the Mo Dynasty in the north are still fighting, but according to my subordinates, neither side can support them." Su Ze looked at
Shen Yi Guan, Shen Yi Guan said slowly: "No matter who we support, it is equivalent to recognizing Annan's orthodoxy. After Annan is unified, they will definitely rebel immediately." "The best result then is to be
like Ming Chengzu, Annan will be defeated It has been incorporated into the tribute system and recognized as a vassal state."
"Then what do you think?"
"Instead of supporting an unfamiliar white-eyed wolf, it is better to directly send troops to attack Annan with the slogan of restoring the Han family's clothes!"
(End of this chapter)