I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

June 20th, afternoon.

In front of the Wenhua Hall, Zhang Cheng, the head of the Directorate of Palace Attendants, requested an audience.

The young Wanli waved his hand at Fang Ping, who immediately withdrew.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Cheng entered the hall.

Zhang Cheng was once the most favored eunuch by Emperor Wanli's side. He was later expelled from the Secretariat for dereliction of duty and embezzlement. Now he is a hidden pawn of Emperor Wanli. On the surface, he is in charge of engineering projects in the Directorate of Palace Attendants, but in reality, he is responsible for investigating various intelligence for Emperor Wanli and reporting to him from time to time.

Zhang Cheng was at odds with Feng Bao, and his domineering nature while working for the young Wanli Emperor made him unacceptable to officials in the outer court.

The young Wanli Emperor took advantage of his tendency to make enemies both internally and externally, turning him into his own covert agent.

In the past two years, in order to take control of the government, the young Wanli Emperor has made many underhanded arrangements.

These undercover agents could directly meet with the young Wanli Emperor with their tokens. Even Feng Bao, Shi Qing, and Xiao Fangping, the three close attendants who were always by the young Wanli Emperor's side, did not know how many undercover agents the young Wanli Emperor had, nor how many secrets the young Wanli Emperor knew about the inner court and the outer court.

The current Wanli Emperor is far more cunning and thoughtful than he appears to the outside world.

Seeing Fang Ping leave, Zhang Cheng secretly felt smug.

Feng Bao was already very old. He felt that if he could return to the Directorate of Ceremonial, he would be more favored than Fang Ping and would definitely be able to take the position of Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

"This servant, Zhang Cheng, greets Your Majesty!" Zhang Cheng knelt on the ground and bowed.

"Zhang Cheng, what has happened recently?" asked the young Wanli Emperor.

Zhang Cheng bowed to the young Wanli Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, this servant has discovered these past two days that Grand Secretary Shen's steward, Aji, is investigating Grand Secretary Zhang's steward, You Qi!"

"What? Why investigate him?" Young Wanli asked, his face full of doubt.

"You Qi recently took a concubine, who is the sister-in-law of Liu Xuan, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Works. In addition... in addition... You Qi's relationship with Xu Jue, a close follower of Eunuch Feng, is unusual. It is possible... it is possible... Grand Secretary Shen is dissatisfied with this matter and wants to compile evidence to report to Grand Secretary Zhang."

Shen Nian was Zhang Juzheng's most prized student and was unanimously regarded by officials as Zhang Juzheng's successor.

Therefore, what Zhang Cheng could think of was not that Shen Nian wanted to impeach Zhang Juzheng, but that he wanted to report to Zhang Juzheng that his steward was suspected of abusing his power for personal gain.

“I know this You Qi. He often acts arrogantly, relying on his status as a member of the Prime Minister’s family. But what’s the big deal? What’s the use of telling me?” The young Wanli Emperor looked at Zhang Cheng.

Not only did the young Wanli Emperor know about You Qi, but he also knew about some of the shady things he had done.

But all of this was within the expectations of the young Wanli Emperor.

The officialdom in the capital has always been a murky mess, with almost every official entangled in numerous interests. If the issue were to be raised too high and this murky water were to be cleared up, then there would probably be no officials left in the court.

Besides, even if You Qi's shady dealings were exposed, they wouldn't ruin Zhang Juzheng.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng already had the intention of retiring from officialdom.

The young Wanli Emperor was still hoping to further drain Zhang Juzheng's energy so that he could leave behind a more manageable court!
Therefore, he would not punish Zhang Juzheng for such a trivial matter.

Zhang Cheng's eyes darted around, and he said, "Your Majesty, this servant believes that we can take this opportunity to strengthen imperial power and prevent Grand Secretary Shen from inheriting Grand Secretary Zhang's power."

"Hmm?" Little Wanli couldn't help but sit up straight.

Zhang Cheng continued, "Now that Grand Secretary Zhang is about to retire, His Majesty will need Grand Secretary Shen to take charge of the cabinet. However, Grand Secretary Shen is Grand Secretary Zhang's prized student. If Grand Secretary Zhang orders all his students and former associates to obey Grand Secretary Shen before his retirement, then Grand Secretary Shen may very well become the next Grand Secretary Zhang."

"This servant believes that we could leak the matter of Grand Secretary Shen ordering someone to investigate Grand Secretary Zhang's steward, You Qi, to Grand Secretary Zhang. Then, we could order a clerk to impeach Grand Secretary Zhang on this matter, making Grand Secretary Zhang believe that the clerk was acting on Grand Secretary Shen's orders. In this way, Grand Secretary Zhang might think that Grand Secretary Shen is eager to seize power, and once a rift develops between the two, His Majesty will be able to better control Grand Secretary Shen..."

Zhang Cheng knew the young Wanli Emperor very well and knew that he needed Shen Nian to assist him in governing, but he did not want Shen Nian to become too powerful, so he offered this plan.

Upon hearing this, the young Wanli Emperor's eyes lit up.

It is a foregone conclusion that Zhang Juzheng will retire.

After he took power, if he wanted to realize his ambitions, he had to rely heavily on Shen Nian, but he was also worried that Shen Nian would become the next Zhang Juzheng.

Whether Shen Yiguan, whom he arranged, will become Shen Nian's rival in the future is still hard to say.

Given the current relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Shen Nian, Zhang Juzheng will definitely pass on his power to Shen Nian. For example, Qi Jiguang on the border might switch allegiance to Shen Nian.

The young Wanli Emperor needed Shen Nian, but he absolutely did not want Shen Nian to become the next Zhang Juzheng, overshadowing his own brilliance.

He thought for a moment and asked, "How many days has Aji been investigating You Qi? Will it be over in the next couple of days?"

"It's just begun, and we expect it to take at least three more days to investigate!" Zhang Cheng replied.

The reason Zhang Cheng was able to discover that Aji was investigating You Qi was not because Aji's informant was not discreet, but because he was determined to find fault with Feng Bao. You Qi had an unusual relationship with Xu Jue, Feng Bao's close follower, so he had been keeping an eye on You Qi all along!
When he was reporting earlier, he mentioned Xu Jue, a close confidant of Feng Bao, but the young Wanli Emperor did not respond to this, clearly knowing about it but not caring at all.

Little Wanli thought about it.

"Today, you will leak Aji's investigation of You Qi to Grand Secretary Zhang's informant. Then, on my orders, you will go to find Xu Dong, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, and have him... impeach You Qi the day after tomorrow, and impeach the things that Aji investigated."

Xu Dong, a supervising secretary in the Ministry of Personnel, was also a person arranged by the young Wanli Emperor, and he obeyed his orders without question.

"This servant understands!" Zhang Cheng said, bowing.

A bright smile appeared on the face of the young Wanli Emperor. He said, "This matter must not be told to anyone. You may leave now!"

"Yes!" Zhang Cheng left with great excitement.

The young Wanli Emperor's lips curled up in a smug smile. He murmured, "A mature monarch must be able to manipulate his ministers at will. I already have some of my grandfather's style!"

If this incident can break the relationship between Zhang Juzheng and Shen Nian, then his "sowing discord" tactic will be considered a success.

The reason why the young Wanli Emperor made trouble for Shen Nian was because Shen Nian was too outstanding and had impeccable morals.

Such officials are most likely to control all officials and render the emperor powerless.

……

Late at night, at Zhang Juzheng's residence.

In the study room.

Zhang Juzheng saw the information provided by his informant about a series of scandals involving Shen Nian's steward, Aji, who was investigating his steward, You Qi, including his abuse of power for personal gain, marrying the sister-in-law of a censor, and his arrogant and domineering behavior in private.

Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly.

He was actually well aware of some of the things You Qi did in private.

However, some things required You Qi to resolve in a less-than-respectable manner, so he always turned a blind eye.

He subconsciously thought that Shen Nian was preparing to impeach him and seize power ahead of schedule, but upon closer examination, he felt that such a possibility was impossible.

Given Shen Nian's abilities, it's impossible for him to seize power.

When he retires, Yin Zhengmao will also retire. The position of Grand Secretary will most likely be held by Shen Shixing, and the position of Second Grand Secretary will be held by Shen Nian. However, Shen Shixing will not be able to suppress Shen Nian at all, so Shen Nian will definitely be in charge of the cabinet.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a precedent of the Grand Secretary being sidelined and the Second Grand Secretary taking charge.

Li Chunfang, the Grand Secretary during the Longqing reign, was almost completely sidelined by Gao Gong, the Second Grand Secretary. In the cabinet, whoever gained the emperor's trust had more power.

Suddenly, Zhang Juzheng remembered Yin Zhengmao's warning to him not long ago after he recovered from his illness: stay away from women, as sexual drugs are harmful to the body. Given Yin Zhengmao's character and his own obsession with women, he would never have given him such a warning.

He guessed that Shen Nian was probably saying this through him, since students shouldn't interfere in their teachers' private lives.

"Ziheng probably wants to gather evidence of You Qi's crimes and give it to me so that I can expel him and thus reduce my indulgence!" Zhang Juzheng murmured.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard, sighed deeply, and said, "Too late!"

Zhang Juzheng initially became addicted to aphrodisiacs because, in addition to allowing him to enjoy sexual pleasure, they also made him energetic. He knew that this was overdrawing his body, but he needed to make decisions on all matters, big and small, in the court, so he gradually became addicted.

Now that my body is weakened, it will be difficult for it to heal itself.

……

Two days later, around noon.

A memorial of impeachment from Xu Dong, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, excited many officials in the court.

Xu Dong impeached Zhang Juzheng for lax management, which allowed You Qi, the steward of the mansion, to take advantage of the situation to amass wealth, become arrogant and domineering, and form cliques with many officials in the capital, acting as sworn brothers.

Meanwhile, another rumor spread like wildfire.

The crime committed by You Qi was discovered by Shen Nian's steward, Aji, through a secret investigation, and was then unexpectedly discovered by Xu Dong, a censor in the Ministry of Personnel.

You Qi's use of his position to amass wealth and form cliques did not surprise the officials, but Shen Nian's order to secretly investigate Zhang Juzheng excited them.

This is equivalent to Shen Nian indirectly impeaching his mentor Zhang Juzheng for failing to manage his subordinates strictly.

After the news spread, officials from various government departments discussed it extensively.

Some believe that Shen Nian was eager to seize power and therefore wanted to use this incident to force Zhang Juzheng to retire.

Some believe that Shen Nian and Zhang Ju are outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, with the former harboring ambitions of usurpation.

Some people believe that historically, when cabinet ministers change, the outgoing chief minister is always impeached in order to protect the power and position of the new minister. Shen Nian thought that after Zhang Juzheng retired, he would become the chief minister, so he did not hesitate to use such means to deal with his mentor.

……

In short, all the discussions were slanderous towards Shen Nian, since it was considered impolite for a student to secretly investigate his mentor.

Shen Nian was quite surprised when she received this news.

Unexpectedly, before he could even find out the results, someone else intercepted the deal.

It is a major taboo for students to secretly investigate their mentors or for tutors in groups to privately investigate the prime minister.

Shen Nian felt that Zhang Juzheng probably thought he was two-faced.

This is the behavior of a hypocrite.

Shen Nian thought for a moment and decided that he should be honest with Zhang Juzheng. He didn't care about the slander from the outside world, but he didn't want Zhang Juzheng to misunderstand him.

Now that this matter has been leaked, he should have directly advised Zhang Juzheng to use less aphrodisiacs and to avoid women.

Shen Nian was always straightforward in his actions, and he immediately went to Zhang Juzheng's duty room.

……

In the duty room.

Shen Nian got straight to the point: "Master, you must have heard about what happened outside, about me secretly investigating your steward!"

Zhang Juzheng's expression remained calm as he nodded.

“I did do it, but I… I didn’t want to impeach you to seize power. I wanted you to expel You Qi because he found female concubines for you and brought aphrodisiacs… which harmed your health!” Shen Nian said earnestly.

"I know I shouldn't interfere in your private life, but for your health, I had no choice but to overstep my bounds. I just didn't expect to be discovered beforehand!"

Shen Nian addressed the matter as a mentor and student, indicating that she did not treat it as official business.

Zhang Juzheng slowly stood up and said, "Ziheng, I believe in you. I am certain that you will not impeach me in order to seize power!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Nian was taken aback, not expecting Zhang Juzheng to trust him so much.

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard lightly.

"The leak of this matter must have been at His Majesty's behest. His Majesty does not want me to hand over all my trusted subordinates to you when I retire. His Majesty does not want you to have the same power as me in the future. His Majesty wants to make you a lone minister and to make you his servant. Therefore, His Majesty wants to create a rift between us!"

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty is... sowing discord? This... this can't be!" Shen Nian was somewhat surprised.

Zhang Juzheng smiled slightly and said, "I have this deduction because Xu Dong, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, is His Majesty's man!"

When it comes to intelligence gathering and understanding of court affairs, no one can compare to Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng knew almost every official in the capital like the back of his hand. He not only knew that Xu Dong, a censor in the Ministry of Personnel, was a man of the young Wanli Emperor, but also that the young Wanli Emperor had cultivated many undercover agents.

"what?"

Shen Nian thought about it and immediately believed it.

Yao Bin, a former censor of the Ministry of Personnel, was a student of Hai Rui. However, because Yao Bin was upright and repeatedly remonstrated against the inner court, the young Wanli Emperor transferred him to a local post.

Xu Dong was the person whom the young Wanli Emperor had his eye on.

Zhang Juzheng paused for a moment and said, "I will apologize to His Majesty later and then expel You Qi from the mansion. I hope you can play along with me in a play, a play about our discord. Only in this way can His Majesty be pleased and feel that he can control you. However, it will be a pity that your reputation will be damaged!"

"After I retire, I will instruct my loyal old friends and students to secretly support you. What do you say?"

Shen Nian frowned slightly.

“Master, my reputation among the scholar-officials is already bad, and I don’t care. But isn’t it inappropriate to cultivate cronies like this? They should be loyal to His Majesty!”

Shen Nian actually did not want to become a powerful minister like Zhang Juzheng.

On the one hand, because the power of the ministers was greater than that of the emperor, their fate was destined to be tragic; on the other hand, such powerful ministers would be very tired and would most likely die young.

Zhang Juzheng shook his head and looked at Shen Nian.

"I am not asking you to become me, to continue to suppress His Majesty, or to become the next powerful minister, but rather to protect the new government."

"Throughout history, there have been too many precedents of policies collapsing with the death of their leaders! When you were the Grand Secretary, if you didn't have enough power to protect the new policies, everything we've done over the years could have been overturned. After I retire, many officials will inevitably have the same thought, and His Majesty is very likely to waver. Therefore, you must have enough power, understand?"

“His Majesty is still young, and he is too eager to prove himself. We cannot let him act willfully!” Zhang Juzheng said earnestly.

Zhang Juzheng understood the young Wanli Emperor very well, and he valued the achievements of the current new policies above all else.

Shen Nian nodded and then said, "Master, I understand, but please take care of your health!"

"Understood!" Zhang Juzheng walked up to Shen Nian and patted him on the shoulder. (End of Chapter)