Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 79 The wind rises!

Wenyuan Pavilion.

After Gao Gong was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown in the sixth year of the Longqing reign, the cabinet became Zhang Juzheng's personal domain.

Having served as the cabinet minister for nearly ten years, his position as prime minister is firmly established and unshakeable.

Normally, if any disputes arose regarding the drafting of memorials, they would always be handled according to Zhang Juzheng's wishes.

Therefore, starting from the sixth year of the Longqing reign, the Wenyuan Pavilion had been peaceful for a long time and no longer had the tense atmosphere of the Jiajing reign.

But today, it seems everything has changed.

"No!"

The noise inside the Wenyuan Pavilion was so loud that even passing clerks and eunuchs avoided it, fearing that entering rashly would anger the Grand Secretaries.

"Absolutely not! Absolutely not! The epidemic in the city is already out of control, and now you want to bring refugees into the city? Does Uncle Da think the capital is not chaotic enough?"

Zhang Siwei, the second-ranking minister, slammed his hand on the desk and glared angrily at Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Since the third year of the Wanli reign, Zhang Siwei had been appreciated by Zhang Juzheng and entered the cabinet. He had almost never contradicted Zhang Juzheng like this before.

Because of this great favor, Zhang Juzheng, who was only one year older than Zhang Siwei, still often addressed Zhang Juzheng as "Your Excellency," which shows how much respect Zhang Siwei had for him.

Zhang Juzheng looked up at the other person with some surprise and said in a nonchalant tone.

"There are about 20,000 refugees in the city. Not all of them will be brought into the capital. A group of the elderly, weak, women and children will be selected to receive treatment first, and the rest will be moved to camp outside Fuchengmen in the western suburbs and temporarily settled down. This method is described in great detail in the memorial. Is there anything wrong with it?"

The question "What's wrong with that?" made Zhang Siwei even angrier, his chest heaving.

However, he did not give up and continued to point out each and every one of them.

“If we give each refugee eight fen of silver and twenty wen of cash, and set such a precedent, do you know how much silver the Ministry of Revenue will have to spend? In the past, the disaster relief funds were all distributed to the people of the capital. How could we possibly give them to refugees?”

Zhang Juzheng glared at the other party with a cold gaze and said, "Are the people of the capital human beings? Aren't the refugees human beings too?"

"Refugees!" Zhang Siwei was speechless for a moment, unable to utter a word.

Shen Shixing stood aside, watching with great anxiety, and quickly offered words of comfort.

“Brother Ziwei is wrong. It’s not just about giving money to refugees. There are poor people in the capital who can be verified to have received silver, so that ordinary people don’t have money to buy medicine. This is a good policy.”

The imperial court will also dispatch five city censors to oversee the distribution of funds, in order to prevent soldiers and barbarians from abusing their power for personal gain and to prevent healthy people from fraudulently claiming multiple payments.

"Let's leave that aside for now." Zhang Siwei's tone was full of indignation. "But the situation at the Imperial Medical Academy is truly absurd. The memorials actually show that the entire Imperial Medical Academy is completely under the control of Zhang Shiyuan? All the medicines and supplies in the capital are decided by him alone."

"Is the Grand Secretary going to such lengths to show favoritism and indulge your young son's whims?"

Shen Shixing looked troubled and explained, "The Emperor has considered this. Zhang Shiyuan has considerable experience in dealing with plagues."

"Martial law has been declared at the nine gates of the capital, checkpoints have been set up in the streets and alleys to prohibit movement, and the Five City Garrison Commands have been dispatched to investigate patients from house to house. With such a large-scale mobilization, what are you trying to do?"

For a moment, Zhang Siwei's tone of voice changed.

Shen Shixing replied from the side, "Brother Ziwei, please calm down. Your Majesty always acts with careful consideration. Now, the plague is raging in the capital, and there are waves of refugees outside the city. This has become an urgent problem for the court. If we let it go unchecked, some villains will surely stir up trouble and fan the flames. In times of chaos, we must use severe punishment."

But Zhang Siwei completely ignored Shen Shixing's words and only spoke to Zhang Juzheng.

"Furthermore, why is it necessary to centrally allocate all medicines within the capital? Is there any precedent for this? Such acts of force and plunder by the court will inevitably incite public outrage!"

Finally, Zhang Juzheng, who had remained silent all along, suddenly looked up at the other party and spoke.

"Zhang Ziwei, do you still want to profit for the Shanxi merchants?!" Zhang Ziwei seemed to have been struck by a heavy hammer, and unconsciously took a step back. A trace of panic flashed across his face, but he immediately retorted with a stiff neck.

"In the past, the court had established procedures for dealing with plagues. Why do you, Zhang Jiangling, suddenly resort to such radical measures? Do you think the court is already in enough chaos? You have been taciturn lately, ignoring His Majesty's actions. Have you forgotten the late Emperor's instructions to you?!"

"Say less! Say less! This matter can still be discussed."

Fearing a conflict between the two, Shen Shixing acted as a peacemaker.

"There's no need to discuss it further."

Zhang Juzheng pushed out the memorial and spoke calmly and slowly.

"His Majesty has already approved it, so the matter is settled."

"What?" Zhang Siwei's eyes widened, and he hurriedly stepped forward to examine the memorial. The bright red annotations on it were extremely glaring.

With a thud, his hand lost its grip, and the memorial fell onto the table.

On the unfolded memorial was a line of words.

"The six ministries of the cabinet are hereby ordered to implement this immediately, without any disobedience!"

Zhang Siwei gritted his teeth, his steps were unsteady, and his body trembled as he pointed at Zhang Juzheng, who was still sitting upright.

"Chaos! Everything's in chaos!"

His mustache twitched, his eyes were bloodshot, and he glared at the other person as he spoke.

"Now I understand. It was all your scheme, Zhang Jiangling, to have your young son deceive the Emperor. I was wondering why His Majesty had previously implemented this policy, but now I understand."

Zhang Siwei's eyes were full of resentment, whether it was intentional or a genuine expression of emotion was unclear.

"Very well, Uncle Zhang! I knew you were doing this to pave the way for your young son! Just you wait and see! The Ming Dynasty will be destroyed by your hands sooner or later!"

This time, Shen Shixing finally panicked and quickly grabbed Zhang Siwei.

"Brother Ziwei, you mustn't speak recklessly. This is a matter of great importance to the nation; how can you act impulsively?"

Zhang Siwei flicked his sleeves, turned around and glared angrily at Shen Shixing, saying, "Get out of my way! I am ashamed to be associated with you!"
After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

"Brother Ziwei! Brother Ziwei!" Shen Shixing stomped his feet anxiously as he watched Zhang Siwei's departing figure.

Shen Shixing then looked at Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting upright in the hall with an unpredictable expression on his face, and said in a slightly stammering tone.

"Brother Ziwei of the En family..."

Zhang Juzheng squinted and saw Zhang Siwei's departing figure through the crack in the window, as well as the clerk who hurriedly left after him.

The clerk was still holding paper and pen in his hand.

Without saying much, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "Let's put this matter aside. There's something more important. Please pass on a message to Zhang Shiyuan for me."

"Me?" Shen Shixing looked surprised. When did he ever need to relay messages between father and son?
Zhang Juzheng smiled and said, "It's not just about sending you to deliver a message, but also about assisting Shi Yuan. With so many people, how could he mobilize them without you, the Grand Secretary, in charge?"

"Coincidentally, he possesses a statistical method. You should learn it; it will surely make handling matters in the cabinet twice as efficient in the future."

Shen Shixing: "???"

(End of this chapter)