Wanli Youming

Chapter 103
On April [-], the sixth year of Wanli, Zhang Wenming, the father of Zhang Juzheng, was buried in Taihui Mountain.

However, after the burial was completed, Zhang Juzheng did not leave for Beijing immediately.

Instead, Zhang Juzheng went to Zhu Yijun and asked Zhu Yijun to allow him to postpone his return date on the grounds that the old mother who he wanted to take to Beijing to take care of during the scorching heat of the journey would be unbearable and asked Zhu Yijun to allow him to postpone his return date. Return to the capital in September.

Zhu Yijun knew that it was Zhang Ju who was testing him, and wanted to see if he, the emperor, really began to trust Gao Gong more and no longer needed him to return to Beijing, so he made an excuse in April to say that he was afraid that his mother would not be able to bear the journey If it is extremely hot and you want to postpone your return date.

As a matter of fact, Zhu Yijun has already made it clear through calling Gao Gong that Gao Gong has weaknesses that Zhang Juzheng does not have, and in the end he is different from Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng is the only one who advocates and can clean up the aftermath and take responsibility.

Therefore, Zhu Yijun also pretended to be stern and said: "Let the clerk take this note to the cabinet to pass on my oral instructions, and ask the cabinet ministers, I hope that Mr. will come early day and night, how can I do this again?!"

Zhang Jing bowed his hands and said yes.

The cabinet Zhang Siwei and Wang Guoguang were greatly shocked after hearing this.

After the eunuch in the study room ordered him to leave, Wang Guoguang said to Zhang Siwei unconvinced: "How dare we prevent Yuanfu from returning to the capital? How did His Majesty vent his anger on us?!"

Zhang Siwei said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty means that we have to urge Yuanfu to return to the capital for him, and he can't just issue an order to urge him, lest people in the world really think that the emperor can't do without Yuanfu!"

Then, Zhang Siwei sighed and said, "It seems that His Majesty is indeed still very dependent on Yuanfu."

Wang Guoguang suddenly asked Zhang Siwei with a smile: "Does Ziwei think this is not a good thing?"

Zhang Siwei was startled, and immediately said sharply: "I didn't say that!"

After finishing speaking, Zhang Siwei flung his sleeves and went back to his room, and said in a low voice: "One Zhao Neijiang left, and another Wang Yangcheng came, and each of them spoke in a strange way, which made people displeased. Get ahead in the cabinet!"

Not long after Zhu Yijun announced the order to the cabinet, officials from the cabinet, the six ministries, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other departments understood his intentions and sent letters one after another, asking the emperor to urge Zhang Juzheng to return to Beijing as soon as possible.

Then Zhu Yijun issued an imperial decree at the invitation of all officials, saying: "I look forward to your visit day and night, but please be lenient! I will send eunuchs as guests first, and wait for Qiu Liang to accompany my mother to come north. You should go on the road as soon as possible. Arriving in Beijing at the end of May, to comfort my heart, will be great loyalty and great filial piety!"

In addition, Zhu Yijun also sent Zhai Rujing, the commander of Jinyiwei, to Jiangling to guard Zhang Juzheng at Xingye, urging Zhang Juzheng to leave.

After Zhang Juzheng saw the imperial decree sent by Zhai Rujing Xingye, he was immediately overjoyed, and hurriedly said: "From this point of view, the sacred order is hard to violate, and we can only go north as soon as possible."

"Yuanfu can understand the holy will, which is naturally excellent! It can also make the subordinate officials less harshly criticized, which is really a great contribution."

Zhai Rujing replied with a smile.

Zhang Juzheng then asked Zhai Rujing: "How is Yu Gong, who is in charge of Jinyiwei?"

"Grand Yu was impeached by the censor, saying that he received private donations from foreign ministers, and there was evidence that the emperor could not hide his fault, so he was sent to guard Duyun, Guizhou."

Zhai Rujing replied.

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng was in a good mood, so he said to Zhai Rujing with a smile: "From this point of view, the general will be promoted. How can I delay my future."

As he said that, Zhang Juzheng gave Zhang Jingxiu an order: "I tell my family that I must leave for the north on May [-] at the latest, without delay."

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he went to his mother first, planning to personally inform his mother about his departure to the north.

Zhai Rujing bowed to Zhang Juzheng gratefully.

And on May [-]th, Zhang Juzheng refused to stop along the way except for the officials and vassal princes, and did not see officials from all over the place, so that he received a lot of gifts and filial piety, in order not to delay the time to arrive in Beijing. On the way, only under the escort of Jin Yiwei, the boats and cars galloped towards the capital without stopping.

When Zhang Juzheng had started to return to Beijing, Ma Ziqiang and Shen Shixing were still on their way to inspect places.

The two are the new cabinet ministers selected by Zhang Juzheng, and they are also the successors Zhang Juzheng intends to choose as the first batch of successors.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng specially sent the same private letter to these two people before leaving Beijing, and the content of the private letter was to hope that they would ask more about the sufferings of the people in the local area, and carefully consider Wanli after the end of Qingzhang's fields. How should the New Deal be implemented, should we continue to reform the system, and if so, what system should be reformed?

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng also asked these two people to discuss the three new policies discussed by Zhao Zhenji, Hai Rui and him in front of the imperial court that were not implemented in the past, namely "officials and gentry pay grain and errands together", "split households into the mu", and "commercial tax increase". After inspecting the place, tell him which one can be implemented after clearing Zhang Tianmu.

Zhang Juzheng raised these three questions, which can be regarded as three examination questions for the two cabinet ministers, and he also wanted to see what the two cabinet ministers held.

Ma Ziqiang and Shen Shixing naturally knew what it meant, so they didn't dare to neglect.

It's just that shortly after Ma Ziqiang left the capital, the Li family, a rich gentry from Tongzhou, booked him a gorgeous boat in the name of his nephew, and as a result, Ma Ziqiang enjoyed luxurious treatment as soon as he left the capital, On the way to the south, many gentry begged to see each other in the name of old disciples, and some gentry even offered thousands of taels of gifts to bribe their slaves, just for the chance to treat Ma Ziqiang to a meal, or even meet him once. .

This is unavoidable.

After all, everyone knows that cabinet ministers like Ma Ziqiang will influence the world's affairs in the future, so they all want to use Ma Ziqiang to make the future court affairs more beneficial to themselves, and even hope that through Ma Ziqiang, they can gain greater power in the future .

No matter whether it is a wealthy gentry or a rich man, they all know that only power can guarantee a rich man, and even win greater wealth.

Therefore, these people also know that no matter how much they invest in Ma Ziqiang, they will not lose money. Even if they don't expect Ma Ziqiang to be driven by them, they hope that through this method, at least Ma Ziqiang will not use his power to go after them because of their slow treatment. embarrass them.

In this era, cabinet ministers are close to the emperor, and their ability to legally harm cannot be underestimated.

You know, it once happened in Daming, when an official visited the disaster-stricken area according to the order, because the officials and gentry in the disaster-stricken area did not give him generous gifts, but directly told the court that there would be no disaster due to the richness of the local area, so that after the local catastrophe occurred, The disaster was not rescued in time, and many people died. In the end, it was the local officials and gentry who gave generous gifts together, so that they should change their minds in the matter.

As a cabinet minister, Ma Ziqiang is likely to be a cabinet minister who will preside over major political affairs in the future, so he will naturally be treated with more care by the local officials.

"How many posts are there today?"

When Ma Ziqiang first arrived in Songjiang that day, he asked his son Ma Yi about posting a post asking to see him.

Ma Yi replied: "There are 76 copies."

"It's simply hard to have the time to ask people's sentiments."

Ma Ziqiang complained, and said, "I don't see any of you!"

At this time Ma Yi said: "There is only one Mr. Li who lives in Songjiang. It is better for my father to meet him. He is the son of Mr. Chu Bin's sister-in-law Li Fangbo."

Chu Bin is You Qi's number.

And You Qi is Zhang Juzheng's domestic slave.

(End of this chapter)