Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 280: Ju Zheng dismissed from his post, and the master and his disciple fought!
July 15th, Hungry Ghost Festival.

The first howl was heard from the Prime Minister's Residence, and then the crying became louder, shaking the nearby streets and lanes, and soon spread throughout the capital.

Something big happened in the prime minister's mansion. Old Master Zhang Wenming died.

The fourth son of the Zhang family.

Zhang Juzheng, Zhang Jujing, Zhang Juyi, and Zhang Juqian.

Among them, the second oldest, Zhang Jujing, died early, leaving behind three brothers. Old Master Zhang did not favor the capable eldest brother, Zhang Juzheng, but instead preferred the third oldest, Zhang Juyi, and the fourth oldest, Zhang Juqian, who were always by his side.

In a moment of thought, Old Master Zhang and Old Madam Zhang asked someone to send their third son Zhang Juyi to the battlefield in the northern border. Then, Wang Chonggu, the then Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition, borrowed his life to show his loyalty to the emperor and his determination to the court.

He was a living being, but in exchange he became an earl which could not be inherited. This was a heavy blow to Old Master Zhang.

Immediately afterwards, in order to preserve his status and family, Zhang Juzheng personally broke the legs of the fourth son, Zhang Juqian, leaving no possibility of recovery. This was another heavy blow to Old Master Zhang.

Over the past few months, Old Master Zhang has been in a coma often, and is only conscious for one or two hours a day. Although he has no external illness, his mental illness cannot be cured by medicine.

Finally, on a day when the gates of hell opened and the yin energy was heavy, he passed away.

Zhang Juzheng, who was handling government affairs in the cabinet, was so heartbroken that he collapsed upon hearing the news and almost followed in his father's footsteps.

The four cabinet ministers Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Wang Chonggu immediately asked the cabinet secretary Zhang Wei to send the person back to his residence.

Before they could even sit down, Huang Jin was brought to the cabinet. Since it was an imperial decree, the four of them obeyed it in unison.

According to the regulations, when a country's pillar of support passed away, the emperor and empress would send ministers from both the inner and outer courts to express their condolences.

The external ministers are court officials, so of course it would be the cabinet ministers who would go, and the internal minister is currently the head of the Imperial Household Department, and there is only one person, Huang Jin, so naturally it would be Huang Jin who would go.

Huang Jin came along to convey the emperor's order, and then went to the prime minister's residence to express his condolences.

"I will obey the imperial edict!"

"I will obey your order!"

Gao, Hu, Li and Wang bowed.

After receiving the decree, Huang Jin turned around and was about to leave, looking like he didn't want to have anything to do with the court officials, but Gao Gong stopped him and asked, "Excuse me, Eunuch Huang, what routine things did the Holy Mother and the Holy Mother grant?"

To express condolences, it is not possible to just go over, say a few words, and then turn around and leave. That would be too cold and indifferent.

There will definitely be many rewards.

The country's pillars of defense can receive rewards when their parents pass away, but if the country's pillars of defense pass away, the rewards will be greater.

Therefore, looking back over the 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, when the country's pillars passed away, they were basically buried by the imperial court.

An honest official may have no place to live during his lifetime, but he will definitely be buried with great ceremony after his death.

The emperors of the Ming Dynasty never treated court officials unfairly.

The living are well cared for, the dead are buried.

"The emperor and the Holy Mother donated a total of 1,500 platinum, 10,000 banknotes, 30 colored coins, 60 dan of white silk, 50 pieces of linen, and countless incense, wax, charcoal, and firewood..."

Huang Jin read it expressionlessly. The more the Fourth Elder listened, the more shocked he became. Such a reward, let alone the titles of duke and marquis, was the greatest grace of the royal family in case of the death of the emperor's father-in-law.

"In addition, the emperor wrote in his own handwritten letter: This is a moving and heartbreaking act of filial piety."

Huang Jin said this and turned and left.

The Fourth Elder did not go to see him off, which was obviously a bit rude, but he didn't care too much because he couldn't hold it in any longer.

In terms of donations, the emperor’s grace is immense.

Judging from the imperial edicts, the favor and favor he bestowed was profound.

But according to etiquette, when an official lost his father or mother, he would resign and return home to observe mourning for three years. This was called "Shouzhi".

The court did not allow officials to return home to attend funerals, but ordered them to work in plain clothes. Or, even if it allowed officials to return home to attend funerals and observe mourning, it ordered them to return to their posts before the mourning period was over. All of these were considered deprivation of affection.

As usual, the emperor did not issue any clear decree ordering the prime minister to observe mourning or to give up his love.

However, the eight words written in the imperial edict can be condensed into four words, which is "filial piety moves heaven."

This affirms the affection between Zhang's father and son, and also highlights Yuanfu's filial piety.

This is to force the prime minister to immediately petition for the observance of the mourning period. Once the petition is submitted, I am afraid that Yuxi Palace will approve it immediately.

In this case, the prime minister will have to leave the court for three years, which is the biggest blow in the world to those who cling to power.

The reason why Yuan Fu fainted upon hearing the news must be that he had already thought of this because of his talent for multitasking.

From the Lantern Festival in the 40th year of Jiajing's reign to the Ghost Festival in the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, it was exactly one and a half years. The cabinet of Yan Song and the inner court of Lu Fang came to an end, and the Ming Dynasty seemed like a different world.

Three years is enough time to change this world twice. Yuan Fu cannot help but imagine whether there is any possibility of returning to the court and regaining the position of chief minister of the cabinet after leaving the court.

Yuan Fu's accession to the throne was not stable to begin with. He overthrew Yan Song and Xu Jie, and even became a traitor to the School of Mind. As a result, his former friends turned against him or could no longer trust him.

This is the real reason why Yuanfu recruited so many students.

After a year of hard work, the power of the prime minister was finally stabilized, and Yuan Fu's students and former officials appeared in important positions in the court.

The sudden death of his old father marked the beginning of the collapse of Yuanfu's power.

The struggle in the court is a life-and-death battle, so eliminating the "hostile" characters one by one from a practical perspective is the first priority.

Zhang Juzheng could not pin his hopes on his opponent, or more precisely, on the mercy of his former big brother Gao Gong.

After all, during the time he served as the head of the cabinet, he had firmly controlled Gao Gong's power within the Ministry of Revenue, and used all means to remove and reduce other powers.

This means that Gao Gong is still the deputy prime minister of the cabinet and is also in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. If the situations were reversed, now that Gao Gong's mother has passed away and Gao Gong has left the court to observe the mourning period, Zhang Juzheng can guarantee that even the Ministry of Revenue will not be left to Gao Gong and he will return to the court three years later?
Don't even think about it!

Zhang Juzheng fainted because he despaired of power.

Gao Gong was about to laugh out loud.

What is a sudden turn of events?

What does it mean that things change over time?

Gao Gong was older than Zhang Juzheng. When Zhang Juzheng declared that he would be in charge of the country for twenty years, Gao Gong was in despair. He thought he might not live another twenty years and thought he would never have the chance to become the prime minister of the cabinet in this lifetime. But he did not expect that the surprise would come so suddenly.

However, as his colleague's father had passed away, Gao Gong could not laugh out loud out of courtesy, otherwise it would be too impolite.

Hold back!

Be sure to hold it in!
The cabinet was full of smart people. Hu Zongxian, Li Chunfang and Wang Chonggu were a little overwhelmed when they saw the second prime minister's mouth corners that couldn't be suppressed no matter how hard they tried.

Hu Zongxian took a few deep breaths, looked at Li Chunfang, and said, "Zishi, let the two of us go to visit the court officials this time."

The deputy prime minister couldn't go. If he laughed in front of old master Zhang's coffin, the cabinet would become a laughing stock. Wang Chonggu couldn't go either. He was the "culprit". Old master Zhang used to be very strong, but he was devastated by the death of his third son and the disability of his fourth son. If he really went, the Zhang family would feel insulted and might even fight in front of the coffin.

Chen Yiqin is in Shanxi and cannot come back for the time being, so the only ones from the cabinet who are suitable to go to the Prime Minister's Residence are him and Li Chunfang.

"Alright."

Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang had just gone to express their condolences when Gao Gong ordered the cabinet members to change their seating arrangements.

Except for handling government affairs in the Government Affairs Hall, the seats of cabinet ministers are arranged from left to right, that is, the chief minister's seat is on the far left, the second minister's seat is to the right of the chief minister, the third minister's seat is to the right of the second minister, and so on.

In general, when the first minister steps down, the second minister is promoted to the first minister. Therefore, according to convention, three days after the first minister steps down, the second minister's seat will be moved to the far left.

Gao Gong was obviously impatient. After hearing that there was no decree to deprive Zhang Juzheng of his power, but a meaningful imperial edict, he immediately thought that Zhang Juzheng had been deposed.

Wang Chonggu, a senior official who also remained in the cabinet, had a slightly distorted facial expression when he saw this situation. The power struggle had reached this point, which was full of "simplicity".

I couldn't help but feel secretly dissatisfied, this world is just a huge makeshift team!
As the prime minister, Zhang Juzheng had many supporters in the cabinet, and this incident was immediately reported to the prime minister's office.

However, at this point, Gao Gong didn't care at all.

Prior to this, Zhang Juzheng colluded with other ministers and forced the emperor's close eunuch Lu Fang to leave, shrouding the entire inner court in blood and gore.

The sharp decline in the number of eunuchs led to the abolition of most of the local weaving bureaus, maritime customs bureaus, mining bureaus and other government offices controlled by the inner court. In accordance with the wishes of Zhang Juzheng and all the civil and military officials, these lucrative positions were returned to the court and to the hands of the civil servants.

The income of the imperial treasury suddenly decreased by more than half, and the money that belonged to the emperor alone was reduced.

There is no doubt that Zhang Juzheng had offended the emperor too many times, which led to the imperial edict which was not an imperial decree to abide by the rules but was better than an imperial decree to abide by the rules.

In the name of filial piety, Zhang Juzheng was deprived of his power as prime minister, and he was destined to never serve in the cabinet again.

Although the people had not left yet, the tea had already gone cold. Gao Gong didn't care what Zhang Juzheng thought.

……

When Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang arrived at the Prime Minister's Residence, Huang Jin, as an eunuch, had been away for a long time as he represented the Emperor and the Virgin Mary to express condolences and bestow gifts.

The whole house was in mourning. Zhang Juzheng, who had just woken up, was also dressed in mourning and burning paper money in front of a brazier. Only his disciple, Huang Qing, the Minister of the Dali Temple, was by his side.

Government affairs are important, so civil and military officials will wait until the office is over before coming to pay their respects under the leadership of officials from various departments.

Zhang Juzheng was somewhat distraught. Three, or at most four, points of his distress were due to the death of his old father, and seven, or at least six, points of his distress were due to his worry about his difficult situation.

His talent for multitasking was utilized to the fullest at this moment, but he had no idea of ​​breaking the impasse.

Observe the rules.

It is the eternal moral code.

The country and all lives cannot bear this weight.

Therefore, Confucius criticized Zai Yu for shortening the mourning period: "Have I loved my parents for three years?"

Mencius, the second sage, told the prince who asked for advice on funerals: "Even if one day more is better than the present, the funeral will come to an end."

The saints have their own teachings, and the emperor has his own thoughts. The most difficult thing is that the saint and the emperor have the same thoughts, which almost blocks all of Zhang Juzheng's ways of taking away the love.

At least, the matter of taking away love cannot come from his own mouth.

Huang Qing gently pulled his master's hemp clothes to remind him that the two elders had arrived.

Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang first expressed their condolences to Madam Zhang and Zhang Juzheng on behalf of the Emperor and the Virgin Mary as court officials. Then, as colleagues, they bowed and burned paper money before the coffin of Old Master Zhang.

Huang Qing helped the grief-stricken Madam Zhang leave temporarily, leaving only Zhang Juzheng, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang in the hall where the coffin was placed.

Hu and Li knew that Yuanfu had something to say, and they could guess what he wanted to say. They thought it was troublesome, but they had to listen to Yuanfu's words. "I want to seek the love of the emperor, please help me, Ruzhen and Zishi."

As soon as you open the door you see the mountains.

The two of them were really startled. They looked at each other. Hu Zongxian remained silent, while Li Chunfang politely refused, saying, "If I take away your love, I'm afraid it will damage the reputation of the prime minister."

"In our dynasty, there have been many cases of officials being reinstated due to personal reasons, and there are quite a few who can be called famous ministers. There are three cabinet ministers alone, Duke Wenjing, Mr. Nan Yang, and Li Wenda from Nanyang. They are nothing more than the difference between minor and major sages. I don't care." Zhang Juzheng said.

He also cited three examples of cabinet ministers of this dynasty who had lost their positions. For example, Duke Wenjing, Scholar Jin, returned home at the beginning of Xuande to mourn his mother, but was soon reinstated by the emperor's order.

Mr. Nan Yang, one of the Three Yangs, also returned home during the Xuande period due to his mother's death. Soon after, he was ordered to resume his duties by Emperor Xuande.

Li Wenda of Nanyang lost his father in March of the second year of Chenghua. In May, he was ordered to resume his duties by the Emperor Xianmiao.

Regardless of other ministers, there were three cases among the cabinet ministers in which Zhang Juzheng found role models for himself.

Xiaoxian was reinstated and was criticized, but he can be regarded as a famous minister.

When the great sage rises to power, who can stop him?
In fact, it was common to seize someone's love before the Zhengde Dynasty. However, in the Zhengde Dynasty, after the death of his father, Yang Tinghe, the chief minister, requested to observe the mourning period for three years. The Zhengde Emperor did not allow it. Yang Tinghe even went on strike to resist. After much arguing, the Zhengde Emperor finally allowed Yang Tinghe to return to his hometown to observe the mourning period. Soon after that, the Zhengde Emperor ordered Yang Tinghe to return to the court. Yang Tinghe even wrote a letter of disobedience and did not return to the court until he had observed the mourning period for three years. Yang Tinghe became a model of filial piety for a while.

It was from that time on that cabinet ministers were able to observe a full three years of mourning for their parents. From then on, cabinet ministers and civil and military officials did not dare to take away their parents' love at will, for fear of being accused of being unfilial.

As the saying goes, "He who first made clay figures for burial will have no descendants." Zhang Juzheng had no sympathy for Yang Tinghe's experience after entering the Jiajing Dynasty.

This time.

Li Chunfang also fell silent.

The emperor secretly ordered Yuanfu to return to his hometown to observe mourning. As a senior official in the cabinet, it was absolutely impossible for him to advocate that Yuanfu seize power in the court.

Zhang Juzheng had never thought that his two colleagues would be able to advocate for the cause. After receiving silent opposition, he naturally took a step back and said, "If I am not in the court, there will be chaos in the court and the whole country..."

The two cabinet ministers curled their lips slightly after hearing the Prime Minister's immodest words.

In today's world, no matter who is in charge of the cabinet, there will be no chaos. Even if Hu Zongxian or Li Chunfang comes to the throne, nothing will happen. In this peaceful and prosperous era, the people of the Ming Dynasty will live as usual without anyone.

There will indeed be chaos in the court. If the next prime minister takes over the reins of state power, he will surely launch a frenzied retaliation against the "Zhang Clan", and turmoil in the court and the country is inevitable.

One is fact, the other is exaggeration. Hu and Li could not refute it, so they just listened to Zhang Juzheng continue to say, "Things to advocate in the court will be done by the censors. Ruzhen and Zishi, what I want is nothing more than you two responding to one or two things."

Etiquette for all officials.

It was returned to the Ministry of Rites and the Censorate.

The Minister of Rites Hai Rui was a sincere and filial person, so I think he would be firmly opposed to the seizure of love.

Zhang Juzheng did not count on Hai Rui, nor on Yan Jing, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. Instead, he counted on his disciple, Yu Shenxing, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

It is totally unacceptable to make such a suggestion in the court, but in response to it, one can barely shout a few words.

Hu Zongxian was a colleague, Li Chunfang was a colleague, and they were of the same age. Now that things had come to this, the two of them nodded for the sake of their past friendship.

However, no one expected that one of Zhang Juzheng's most trusted disciples, Yu Shenxing, the Right Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, would reject Zhang Juzheng's proposal to seize his love, and a great battle between master and disciple broke out over this, shocking the government and the public...

(End of this chapter)