My father is Jiajing

Chapter 510: Those who achieve great things do not stick to trivial matters

Ouyang Bijin's experience made people feel very sympathetic, but more people also felt that he seemed more suitable for the position of Left Censor-in-Chief, so the fact that Ouyang Bijin was temporarily transferred to the Censorate did not cause any waves in the capital.

When everyone talked about this, they all smiled knowingly and did not have too many opinions or views.

It can be said that Ouyang Bijin's transfer from the position of Minister of Personnel to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief was an outcome that was popular and expected.

If we have to blame someone, it is that Zhou Yan's death was too sudden, leaving the court and Emperor Jiajing unprepared, so Ouyang Bi had to take the blame.

Next came the days of duty in the government offices after the Lantern Festival. This holiday of more than half a month allowed these officials to have a good rest. In addition to the family reunion and joy that they should have during the Chinese New Year, this long holiday also allowed them to join in a lot of fun and eat a lot of ready-made big melons.

Watching Ouyang Bijin's ups and downs, and Zhou Yan's impermanence of life, really makes people feel a lot of emotion.

However, before the officials in Beijing could recover from their vacation, a court recommendation for the Minister of Works began.

Li Chunfang also came to Prince Yu's mansion to pay a visit the day before the court promotion.

Zhu Zaigui couldn't help but laugh when he saw Li Chunfang, who could still hardly hide her nervousness and excitement.

"Why is Mr. Li so nervous?"

Zhu Zaigui asked with a smile, knowing the answer but still asking about Li Chunfang who had come to visit him.

When Li Chunfang heard Zhu Zaigui's question, he immediately suppressed his excitement and nervousness and replied, "I am still a little nervous about tomorrow's imperial recommendation."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "Mr. Li, don't be nervous. You are the candidate for the new Minister of Works nominated by the cabinet. Tomorrow's nomination will most likely just be a formality, and the final list will be submitted to His Majesty for approval. So there is no point in being nervous now. You might as well wait for the result."

After being comforted by Zhu Zaigui, Li Chunfang felt much more at ease.

He understood his strengths, and the Qingci he wrote in recent years were also deeply recognized by Emperor Jiajing. Otherwise, he would not have been able to climb up like a rocket from a Shujishi in the Hanlin Academy to his current position as Vice Minister of Rites and Hanlin Academician, a position in Luxi Garden.

So when Zhu Zaigui said that the final result still needed the approval of Emperor Jiajing, Li Chunfang felt as if he had drunk honey water, and it was so sweet to his heart.

"Your Highness is right. Everything depends on the result of the Holy Judgment. I am too nervous."

Li Chunfang finally suppressed his excitement.

Zhu Zaigui smiled again at this time and said, "If Mr. Li is lucky enough to be favored by your majesty and appointed as the Minister of Works, your majesty may also promote Mr. Li to be a formal palace minister and become a real cabinet minister."

When Li Chunfang heard this, the excitement that she had just suppressed suddenly rose up again.

This was also Li Chunfang's dream. If he could really obtain this divine grace and be granted by Emperor Jiajing to concurrently serve as a Grand Secretary, it would be a blessing from heaven for Li Chunfang. He could bring honor to his family for hundreds of years, and it would be far more than the ten years of wasted time enjoyed by people of the same age and position.

It can be said that if Emperor Jiajing was really capable and really promoted his current concurrent position of Hanlin Bachelor to the level of Palace Grand Secretary, even if it was only the lowest Dongge Grand Secretary or Wuying Palace Grand Secretary, it would be a beautiful dream that would make people laugh even in their dreams.

"Your Majesty, how dare I have such extravagant dreams? The cabinet is so precious, how can I, a junior, do it?"

Li Chunfang also felt embarrassed and became modest.

Zhu Zaigui said: "Mr. Li, there is no need to be modest. You have been a Hanlin scholar for many years. You have also helped the cabinet elders to handle confidential matters in the past few years, and you have often been on duty at Luxi Garden. You are so favored. There is no official of the same age and position as you in the Ming Dynasty who can match you! It can be seen how important Mr. Li is in the heart of your majesty!"

Zhu Zaigui did not say these words deliberately to praise Li Chunfang, but because they were all facts.

Later generations all said that Xu, Gao and Zhang were the leaders of the "Jia, Long and Wan" era, but before these leaders, Li Chunfang was not necessarily worse than Xu, Gao and Zhang.

Although Li Chunfang was also promoted with the help of Qing Ci, this does not mean that Li Chunfang was only good at flattery. He was able to sit firmly in a high position and became the chief minister during the Longqing Dynasty after Xu Jie. He competed with Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. He was also able to support the restriction of the estates of nobles and relatives, the vigorous elimination of redundant staff, and the clearness of military and national affairs such as "Altan Khan's tribute".

This is enough to prove that Li Chunfang is a real talent for being a prime minister and has enough ability to sit firmly in a high position in the cabinet.

It is a pity that Emperor Longqing at that time had few opinions and trusted Gao Gong too much, which prevented Li Chunfang from truly playing his due role in the cabinet of the Longqing era. Therefore, in historical evaluations, Li Chunfang always appears as a "lucky minister", which is actually a misunderstanding and denial of Li Chunfang's ability.

After all, no matter which era it is, there will always be talented people who are capable but unsuccessful and untrusted.

Under such circumstances, Li Chunfang was able to successfully advance to the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet. He also resisted the exclusion of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, and supported the policies proposed by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, such as "Altan's tribute" and "Longqing opening of the sea". This shows that Li Chunfang was not a person who would abandon the public interest because of personal likes and dislikes. He was still clear about right and wrong on major issues.

Therefore, after all these years of contact, Zhu Zaigui's trust and reliance on Li Chunfang was no less than that of the two historical celebrities Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. Moreover, for some key matters, Zhu Zaigui would find Li Chunfang alone to give him instructions and let him get things done.

For example, in the case of Zhao Wenhua before, if it weren't for Li Chunfang's active cooperation, it would not have been so easy for Zhu Zaigui to bring Zhao Wenhua, a staunch member of the Yan party, into his own hands.
Therefore, sometimes when he was selecting and employing people, Zhu Zaigui would never blindly look for people to do things according to the history books. After all, history is sometimes quite subjective and arbitrary. So if one wanted to truly see and recognize a person, one still needed to personally investigate and understand the person.

Therefore, over the years, Zhu Zaigui had no limitations at all when it came to employing people around him. He would employ famous and capable people, and he would also employ some insignificant people. Even if some of them were eunuchs and treacherous ministers described by history as greedy villains, Zhu Zaigui would not be too timid about them as long as they were obedient and useful.

After all, if he really takes over the position of Emperor Jiajing in the future, it is impossible for him to be like the cute Chongzhen and the cute Jianwen, who only use those they trust or favor based on their own likes and dislikes.

You must know that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish!
Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish!
If one only relies on one's own stupid "intuition" and rigid and inflexible "historical cognition" to employ people, then one can forget about changing the fate of the Ming Dynasty, and one would be thankful if one does not become the second Wang Mang.

Li Chunfang finally left Prince Yu's Mansion with many thanks.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui also arrived together. They came together for tomorrow's event.

However, their important matter is not the court recommendation, but the imperial meeting that may be held in Yuxi Palace in Xiyuan tomorrow.

Before the Lantern Festival, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui submitted the planning memorials on Dashun Tianfu and the plan for paving the Beijing-Tianjin hardened road to the Cabinet and Xiyuan respectively.

When Emperor Jiajing received these two memorials, he instructed the Cabinet to study them carefully and prepare for discussions in front of the emperor after the festival.

Now that the festival is over, although there will be an important event of recommending the Minister of Works in the court tomorrow, these two matters are not necessarily trivial matters.

So in order to ensure some details, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui came together.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui who came to pay him a visit, and couldn't help but say, "Shouldn't you all be on duty in your respective offices today? Why did you all come to my place? I have several large boxes of memorials sent by the Tongzhengsi and Silijian, and my task is heavy."

When Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui heard Zhu Zai's words, they looked at each other and said to Zhu Zai, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. You have worked hard."

Zhu Zaigui sighed in a fake manner, "Forget it, forget it. After all, I am the regent prince. Although I don't have much actual power, I still have the title. What are you all here for today?"

Zhu Zaigui pointed to the tea room on the side of the study and asked Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui to move in. Then Zhu Zaigui instructed the clerk in the study to prepare tea and snacks and bring them over.

Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui looked at Prince Yu's preparations, bowed again to express their gratitude, and then sat down at the table, sitting below Zhu Zaigui.

Zhu Zaigui said, "It's the New Year, and there's no good tea. If you want good tea, you have to wait a few months for the new tea before the Qingming Festival. We'll have to make do with this outdated tea for now."

After hearing what Zhu Zaigui said, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui would definitely not dislike the tea in Prince Yu's mansion. After all, even if these teas were "outdated", they were still rare good teas on the market.

Moreover, as monarch and subject for such a long time, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui were very clear about what kind of person their prince was. Although he was not very interested in rare delicacies such as land and sea delicacies, everything he ate and used was of top quality.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui would naturally not be too pretentious when it comes to Zhu Zaigui.

The two men bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "How dare we despise the tea in the prince's house? Moreover, these tea leaves are rare and good things even if they are sold in the market of the special district of the capital."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "It's a good thing, but it can't stand you guys coming to drink it every now and then. Tell me, what happened after the festival?"

Zhu Zaigui picked up the teacup that had just been poured, blew on it slightly, then took a sip, looking at Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui with relish.

Zhang Juzheng said first: "Your Majesty, I came here today to discuss the Dashun Tianfu. In my plan, Dashun Tianfu occupies nearly one-third of the northern Zhili area. I am worried that the cabinet will not be able to get along with your majesty."

Zhu Zaigui smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. Even if you can't get through, don't you still have the title of Shuntian Governor? This title is enough for you to call on the administrative resources of Shuntian Prefecture and the surrounding prefectures and counties. Moreover, if it becomes a custom for the head of the Beijing Special District to concurrently serve as Shuntian Governor in the future, then whether the Great Shuntian Prefecture is established or not, it will not affect the development of the Beijing's overall planning of Northern Zhili."

Zhu Zaigui's words made Zhang Juzheng, who was originally in a nervous mood, less nervous.

Zhang Juzheng said: "Your Majesty, you are a bystander. I have been focusing on the Great Shuntian Mansion and ignored the title of Shuntian Governor."

Zhu Zaigui said, "It's normal to be ignored. Usually, the Shuntian governor is either in Jizhou or Baoding. Although it's not a permanent position, there are precedents to follow. Mr. Zhang, you still hold the important position of the Special District Chief and still work in the Beijing Special District Office, so it's understandable that you are blinded by the current affairs."

"However, I still hope that Mr. Zhang can get out of his own field of vision and look at the relationship between Beijing, Tianjin and Northern Zhili from the perspective of coordinated development. We cannot only focus on the development of the Beijing Special District and ignore the survival demands of the people in other places in Northern Zhili."

"After all, the Ming Dynasty is not just Beijing, but thousands of places. These thousands of places make up the Ming Dynasty. If Mr. Zhang wants to go further in the future, he should look at the whole Ming Dynasty and consider more about ordinary people."

After listening to Zhu Zaigui's words, Zhang Juzheng bowed solemnly and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Zaigui also laughed when he heard Zhang Juzheng's words, "Mr. Zhang, you are joking. You are the teacher and I am the student. How can I teach you? Mr. Zhang, please don't say that again in the future."

Zhang Juzheng also smiled awkwardly, but he did not think it was a joke, because since he arrived at Prince Yu's Mansion, he has clearly felt that his knowledge could not teach Prince Yu much. On the contrary, he and Gao Gong and others have been taught a lot by Zhu Zaigui over the years.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be the current Beijing Special District and Ming Federal Reserve.

Although these two new yamen do not belong to the central court in terms of sequence, their status and influence are no less than that of the six ministries of the court, and in some aspects they even surpass them.

As long as we wait for the right time, the Beijing Special District and the Ming Federal Reserve will transform into an indispensable and important part of the Ming court! This will have a profound impact on the future political situation and development of the Ming Dynasty.

Seeing that the problem on Zhang Juzheng's side was no longer a problem, Zhu Zaigui turned his attention to Hai Rui.

"What is Mr. Hai worried about?"

Hai Rui looked at Zhu Zaigui, and after a moment's hesitation, he replied, "I am worried that the toll road issue may not pass the discussion of the cabinet and the emperor. After all, the impact of this matter is too great, and I am worried that there will be criticism in the world."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "The criticism of the world will not disappear just because your path is successful or not. Today, the world may criticize your path, but tomorrow, the world may criticize another path. If we focus all our attention on worrying about others, then should we continue to do our work? Should the court continue to govern the world?"

"So, Mr. Hai, please don't focus on these so-called criticisms. If these people are capable, they won't criticize them. Since ancient times, who has accomplished great things has only a good reputation and no scandals? Mr. Hai, just let it go and do it. This king has already done the follow-up for you. His Majesty will help you find out the omissions and make up for the shortcomings when the time comes."

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)