Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 235: The congratulatory message has arrived, Hai Rui is like you!
On the banks of the Thames.

Zhu Zaihou met a woman.

She is extremely beautiful, stunningly beautiful.

So he fell in love at first sight.

We met on the first day, went shopping on the second day, watched the sea on the third day, went hunting on the fourth day, watched Romeo and Juliet on the fifth day, proposed on the sixth day, and entered the bridal chamber on the seventh day.

I am enjoying the pleasure here and don’t miss the Great Ming.

As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and a man who had lived two lives, Zhu Houcong claimed that he had seen many scenes, but he had never seen a scene like this one.

Zhu Zaihou sailed across the ocean to Great Britain. We won’t talk about whether it was hard or not, but it is certain that he lived a very comfortable life.

He is very integrated into foreign cultures and is especially considerate of foreign beauties.

I have no ambition, no aspirations, but if I hadn't been born in a royal family, perhaps it would have been good.

just.

Zhu Zaihou’s money was almost gone.

When he was exiled, Zhu Zaihou did not receive a penny from the national treasury or the private purse. All his travel expenses came from the financial support of his "uncle" Lu Bing, the commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Lu Bing converted all the salary he had received from the court over the past forty years and part of the rewards he had received from the Yuxi Palace into treasures and gave them to Zhu Zaihou.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, and in England, it was worth at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

As a former prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zaihou had no concept of money. He spent money all the way from the Ming Dynasty to Great Britain.

In Zhu Houcong's view, the word "scattering money" would fit the image of the second son very well if the word "money" was replaced with "coin".

The extremely exotic beauty was not attracted by Zhu Zaihou's personal charm, but by his "unruly" spirit.

Coupled with Zhu Zaihou's oriental appearance and the English legend that the East was full of gold, the beauty thought that Zhu Zaihou was a nobleman from the wealthy East and his family had countless wealth.

Through indirect inquiries, we learned that Zhu Zaihou had only one brother, and the system of primogeniture was common in the East and the West.

The exotic beauty's fantasy about Zhu Zaihou also reached its highest height.

Zhu Zaihou and his foreign wife were just running wildly on the road of "throwing money".

Zhu Houcong was unable to judge the actions of his second son and foreign daughter-in-law. The only thing he could do was to respect and bless them.

The mind silently separated from the system world.

Noticing His Majesty's change, Lu Fang climbed up, walked outside the palace gate and loudly announced: "Send the congratulatory message to all the ministers!"

Far away at the other end of the carriage road, a line of eunuchs were holding trays filled with congratulatory messages from civil and military officials, and they were walking towards the main hall of Yuxi Palace.

His Majesty has been practicing Taoism for decades.

First time.

Without waiting for any prompting, the ministers presented their congratulations.

Perhaps in my heart, I hope that His Majesty can cultivate himself more, be a little more foolish, and stop being so wise.

Amid the sounds of bells and drums and chanting of incantations, two eunuchs knelt down and placed a rosewood low table in front of Zhu Houcong's cushion.

Lu Fang presented the congratulatory letters one by one to Zhu Houcong. There were too many of them, so Zhu Houcong only looked at the name on each letter and put each one on the low table.

This is the court.

Zhu Houcong was confused about who sent the congratulatory message, but he knew clearly who did not.

The congratulatory forms on the low table piled higher and higher, and only the last one presented by Lu Fang was left.

Zhu Houcong reached out to take it, but found that Lu Fang did not let go of his hand like he did with the other congratulatory letters. It was obvious that this "congratulatory letter" was unusual.

Zhu Houcong did not take any more and asked calmly, "Whose is it?"

Huang Jin observed the expressions on the side and with a gesture, the two groups of musicians immediately stopped playing music and chanting, and the hall fell into silence.

Lu Fang played: "To the Emperor Feiyuan, the Emperor Zhongxiao, the Emperor Wanshou, the Emperor Yuanmiao, the Emperor Long Live His Majesty. The last congratulatory message is from the Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate, Yan Jing."

Zhu Houcong's face showed no extra emotion, as calm as the surface of a lake, and he asked, "How do you feel about being an official?"

Lu Fang lowered his eyebrows and replied, "Your Majesty, it looks quite like Haibu Hall!"

Kaibu-do.

It’s Hai Rui.

The official document from the Ministry of Personnel appointing Hai Rui as the Minister of Rites had been sent to Nanzhili at full speed. Once he was accepted by the court, he would be addressed as Minister of Rites.

As Lu Fang was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, he could of course call him by his name, but out of respect he addressed him by his full title.

Quite similar to Hai Rui.

Zhu Houcong showed a strange look: "What feat?"

"My Lord, Yan Jing was the Imperial Censor of Shandong Province. When he was inspecting the granaries, the traitor Ma Han borrowed the power of his mentor Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Ge Lao to lend interest to the grain transport workers. If they did not repay on time, the grain would be confiscated. He was exposed by his enemies, and Ma Han came with a letter from Zhang Ge Lao, but Yan Jing executed him on the spot."

Lu Fang considered his words carefully and said slowly, "Because he offended Lord Zhang, Yan Jing was transferred to be the censor of Henan Province.

Within a month of taking office, he petitioned to dismiss the Xinzheng County Magistrate, who was protected by Gao Ge Lao.

What a tough guy.

Huang Jin was horrified as he listened.

In just one month, he had offended the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, two of the most powerful ministers in the cabinet.

The path has indeed become "wider".

"Not long ago, the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department wanted to dismiss an imperial censor for the crime of "carelessness", but the Jinyiwei Examination and Reward Department rejected the idea. Was it him?" Zhu Houcong recalled and asked.

After the implementation of the performance evaluation law.

The Ministry of Personnel's performance appraisal is still in progress.

They belong to two relatively independent departments for examining officials.

If the Ministry of Personnel's Performance Examination Department and the Imperial Uniform Guard's Performance Examination Department have the same evaluation of an official, then the Ministry of Personnel's Performance Examination Department's result will be followed to promote or demote the official.

If the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Performance Department and the Imperial Guard's Examination and Performance Department have different judgments on an official, the result of the Imperial Guard's Examination and Performance Department shall be followed to promote or demote the official.

The power of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Performance Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard's Examination and Performance Department is self-evident.

However, the Ministry of Personnel is in charge of the issuance of official documents for appointments, dismissals, promotions, demotions, honors, transfers, etc., and can also do some small things.

Take the example of the Jinyiwei's Examination Office requesting Yan Jing's promotion and the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Office requesting Yan Jing's dismissal.

The Imperial Guard wanted to promote Yan Jing appropriately, but due to the joint will of the chief minister and the deputy prime minister of the cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel delayed issuing the official document to promote Yan Jing.

It’s not that I don’t obey orders, but I just drag my feet.

Lu Fang replied: "Your Majesty, it's him."

Zhu Houcong took Yan Jing's "congratulatory letter". Unlike other court officials who hoped that the emperor would practice Taoism and ascend to heaven soon, Yan Jing expressed his deep sorrow over the fact that the emperor often practiced Taoism and hoped that the emperor would take good care of his health.

Rather than calling it a congratulatory letter, it would be more appropriate to call it a "letter of advice".

He is a loyal and upright minister.

Zhu Houcong's eyes shot toward the sky outside the open palace door. As if there was a divine connection, the sun, which had just been in the clouds, broke out of the clouds, and a ray of light shot from the center of the palace door toward Zhu Houcong's face. The sunlight shone into Zhu Houcong's eyes, reflecting two bright lights!

Unexpectedly, the sharp sword of the Ming Dynasty included not only Hai Rui, but also Yan Jing.

It is a blessing for the court and a blessing for the people!
"Issue an order to promote Yan Jing to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!"

……

This is the first day of the new year.

The ministers do not need to go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to pay homage.

But the court officials were not idle either. The emperor could choose not to bow, but the chief minister of the cabinet must.

Therefore, in the past twenty years, on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year every year, a group of core ministers of the Yan Party in Beijing would go to the Prime Minister's Residence to pay New Year's greetings to Yan Song.

However, twenty years passed in the blink of an eye, the Ming Dynasty had changed, and the cabinet had a new prime minister.

Zhang Juzheng had hundreds of disciples, and many of them were honored and favored. However, some were sent to remote areas, or went to Nanjing to serve in the six ministries and nine officials. Some were squeezed out of the core because their favor had declined. This year, there should be only about ten people who are qualified to visit the prime minister's residence to pay New Year's greetings.

But many people were politely declined by the steward of the prime minister's residence today in accordance with the will of the grand master. Only Liu Tai, the secretary of the cabinet, Wang Shizhen, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Huang Qing, the minister of the Supreme Court, were allowed to enter the gate of the prime minister's residence.

It was an auspicious day, and Zhang Juzheng was wearing a bright red auspicious robe and sitting on an armchair. Coincidentally, the sunlight was shining through the window lattice in front of the study, making him look much more energetic than usual.

Looking closely, he was still full of a fierce aura that he had never shown before, which immediately reminded people of the emperor bathed in the sunlight in Yuxi Palace.

Those who came to pay New Year's greetings did not seem to be doing so. Liu Tai was in front, followed by Wang Shizhen and Huang Qing. The three of them bowed three times solemnly in front of the high and arched chair, and then stood up solemnly again.

As a close disciple, Liu Tai finally got a seat today. He moved a small stool and sat on the chair next to Zhang Juzheng. Wang Shizhen and Huang Qing sat on the two chairs on the left and right respectively.

"Yan Jing has become the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. You better be careful in the future."

As soon as Zhang Juzheng opened his mouth, he revealed a warning, "If someone catches you again, don't even think of using my letters to redeem me."

Mahan's matter.

This made Zhang Juzheng lose a lot of face.

When Yan Jing was still a provincial censor, the Prime Minister could not control Yan Jing with his letters. Now that Yan Jing has become the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate and one of the Nine Ministers, it is even harder for him to control him.

If any of his disciples or friends fell into the hands of Yan Jing again, Zhang Juzheng would never again beg for mercy and bring shame upon himself.

A gentleman makes friends but does not form factions.

Zhang Juzheng only had disciples and friends, no cliques, but he had already established his own faction.

Zhangmen and Gaomen.

Just like the Yan family and Xu family of Yan Song and Xu Jie in the past, they started fighting openly and secretly for the power of the cabinet and the court.

There is no way around it. The existence of the cabinet is to serve as an advisor to the emperor. If it does not seize real power, it will become an advisor in name only.

"Your Majesty is too arbitrary to promote a "careless" minister to one of the Nine Ministers so casually," said Wang Shizhen dissatisfiedly.

When Yan Song's cabinet was destroyed and Yan and Xu were overthrown, all the cabinet members and the nine ministers of the six ministries were either killed, exiled, or dismissed.

As a person who was promoted, Wang Shizhen was happy to see it happen. But now, as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, he has close contacts with the Prime Minister. The emperor's word can decide anyone's life or death, which adds a lot of uncertainty to the stability of their position.

The emperor can promote someone to be an important official of the country without summoning his ministers or discussing the matter, even if the person is disliked by all the officials in the court.

This made Wang Shizhen very uncomfortable.

"Yuanmei (Wang Shizhen's pen name) is right."

Huang Qing continued, "With Hai Rui, the Minister of Rites, and Yan Jing, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, how can the emperor let the officials live?
Don't worry, my Lord. We have already informed all our people who are officials above the fourth rank in Beijing. We will not treat Hai Rui, Yan Jing and their ilk well."

Exclude the virtuous.

It is a traditional skill in officialdom.

Huang Qing just didn't believe that without subordinates who obeyed his orders, Hai Rui and Yan Jing could not be good ministers or chief governors.

Zhang Juzheng glanced at the three people beside him and in front of him and said, "Hai Rui and Yan Jing are lone ministers. Your methods are useless."

Hai Rui was a man who was well versed in the laws of the Ming Dynasty. If anyone disobeyed any order issued by him, they would be considered disobeying their superiors.

If I pretend to obey but actually disobey, I won't be able to hide it from Hai Rui, so I will still disobey.

The imperial court was a place that emphasized hierarchy. If Hai Rui reported someone for disobeying his superiors, Zhang Juzheng would not dare to step forward to rescue him, even if the person was his own son.

Otherwise, everyone would disobey his superior, and the one whose power would be most affected would be him, the chief minister of the cabinet.

And excluding Yan Jing is even more useless.

One of the powers of the Censorate is to report matters upon hearing rumors.

If Yan Jing wanted to report someone, he would not need the cooperation of his subordinates at all, he could report it directly to the emperor, and the subsequent investigation would be taken over by the Jinyiwei and the Dongchang.

Hai Rui and Yan Jing are both people who can endure loneliness. They never care about the opinions and exclusion of others because they have been walking on a single-plank bridge since they entered the official career.

Not caring about outside voices is one of the necessary qualities for a lone minister or a loyal minister.

Huang Qing's methods are too childish.

"Master, how about mobilizing all the officials to jointly impeach Hai Rui and Yan Jing?" Liu Tai suggested, unwilling to be left behind.

"good idea."

Zhang Juzheng glanced at him and asked with a half-smile, "What's the charge?"

"Hai Rui killed countless people in Nanzhili, including many powerful officials and ministers, which was against the harmony of heaven..."

Before Liu Tai could finish his words, Zhang Juzheng interrupted him and asked, "Then why don't you go and impeach Jinyiwei Commander Lu Bing? Is there anyone in the world who kills more people than him? One Jinyiwei is better than dozens of Hai Ruis and Yan Jings. Why don't you go and impeach him?"

Liu Tai's face froze, and he said, "Commander Lu is a little too strong."

Officials of the world.

What I want to see most is the fall of the Jinyiwei.

The power of the imperial guards is omnipresent. Officials do not even dare to fully trust the people beside them, and they dare not even talk in their sleep.

Hai Rui, Yan Jing, the officials can still use some means to trip them up, but a gentleman should deceive them with his own methods.

But if action was taken against the Jinyiwei, the memorial might be arrested on charges and thrown into the imperial prison before it even leaves the palace.

Faced with the sincerity of his students, Zhang Juzheng almost couldn't hold back. This guy only knew how to bully the "weak".

"There are things in this world that you can tolerate, and there are things that you absolutely cannot tolerate. Hai Rui and Yan Jing, you can tolerate them, as long as you keep your butts clean."

Zhang Juzheng looked at the increasingly bitter faces of his followers and friends and said, "Besides, there are people who are more anxious than you. Gao Gong has been trying to take my position for a long time. He has always valued power and does not want to be offended by anyone.

Yan Jing offended Gao Gong when Wang Anmin, the magistrate of Xinzheng, was dismissed from his post. Gao Gong holds a grudge against Yan Jing. Just wait, someone will take action. "

At this point, Zhang Juzheng looked in the direction of Hongwu Street. Presumably, Gao Gong didn't know the news that Yan Jing was promoted to the position of Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and was presiding over a debate among Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

I don’t know which religion will be the first to be asked a question.

Everyone seeks protection from gods and Buddhas, but not only gods and Buddhas are like clay statues crossing a river, they can’t even save themselves.

With Hai Rui entering the court and Yan Jing ascending to a higher position, everyone in the imperial court is feeling insecure again.

(End of this chapter)