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Chapter 832 So-called Friends (Chinese)
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Time flies, and three months have passed in a blink of an eye. The short chun day in Beijing has long been replaced by a scorching heat.
In Wenyuan Pavilion, the second-level auxiliary room, white smoke flowed out from the copper incense burner on the machine, and the room was filled with a faint sandalwood that made people feel at ease.
Sitting silently in front of the desk, I was writing a letter with a pen. Although the pen holder was as thick as an ordinary pen, it was dark and faintly shining. Looking along the pen holder, the place where the pen was not stained with ink was actually red and bright, and it was obvious that it was not an ordinary person.
This pen has a great background. It was one of the four treasures of the study that Yan Shifan gave him when he was transferred from the Hanlin Academy to the cabinet to serve as Sizhilang. When he first met with Master Yan, he was given to him.
Now that twelve years have passed, the world has changed a lot. The Yan family, who were powerful and powerful, had already been beaten by the wind and rain. Even Xu Jie, who had defeated them, has stepped down and returned to his hometown in Songjiang.
Now, I, Sizhilang of the past, has come to the palace and become the second assistant to the cabinet. I sat in the seat that I once looked up to, and wrote a letter to Xu Jie with the pen that Yan Shifan gave him:
"I am aware of the teacher, and everyone in the world is heard of; the teacher entrusted the affairs of the family and country, and all the world is heard of. I am accused of being under the wall, and I am aroused by the last light, and I am aroused by the unfilial one. I think I am a meeting of the unworld, and I think I am a meeting of the unworld day and night. I think that I am a person who repays the master and repays my friends. Later, I realized that human affairs are inconsistent, and the world changes many times, so that the teacher's career of economic and relief has not been fully relieved; I am aware of the desire to repay, and I am a estrangement. Therefore, when I parted in Tongzhou, tears rustled and could not be stopped, which is not a separation. I sighed that I did not meet at the beginning, and I sighed that I had not extended my contempt. What is it? Although I am far away, I will always remember my kindness in my heart. I always pray to all the Buddhas in the sky to increase my blessings and longevity for my teacher. I wish my teacher to travel under the forest and enjoy the blessings of immortals forever...'
No matter what he thought in his heart, in the letter, Chen Si expressed his feelings for Xu Jie in the humblest tone, and wrote down Xu Jie's request to him in black and white to indicate that he would definitely do it. His heart is really touched by the hard-hearted people.
After writing the last word, a wry smile appeared on the corner of his silent mouth. If possible, he really didn't want to write this greeting letter as a routine. It was so irritating that he was helpless... The adverse consequences of Xu Jie's departure gradually emerged. Although there was no way to teach others, when the dust fell, under the guidance of those who were interested, there would inevitably be public opinion to be unfavorable to him, saying that he was the mastermind behind Xu Ge Lao, in order to become the chief assistant as soon as possible.
Especially after Li Chunfang delivered the speech "At any time to abdicate, the statement became even more marketable, and many people couldn't help but mutter... Once Li Ge Lao made his wife, isn't it Chen Ge Lao who ascended the throne of the chief minister? According to the principle of whoever makes profit and whoever is the mastermind, it seems that in the process of Xu Ge Lao stepping down, he inevitably played a disgraceful role.
This statement has become a big spread after the Xu ranks. Although no one dares to discuss it publicly, everyone knows it. The silent situation is not as wonderful as people imagine. This practice is called "counterattack" in the officialdom. Knowing that you want to touch me, I will seize your problem before you start, and strive to make a big fuss in the world. At this time, if you use the power in your hands to deal with me, it will inevitably cause public outrage. Those involved often give up. Generally speaking, this "counterattack" struggle strategy will be effective.
This move seemed to have worked. At least for the three months after returning to the cabinet, there was no way to exclude dissidents. The actions of Anchā's confidants were just buried in the mountains of official duties, without the consciousness of any winners.
'I believe that as soon as this letter is spread, those Xu party members should be more proud, thinking they have grasped their seven inches, right?' Chen Si sneered in his heart. He wrote this letter while he was writing it. It would probably be delivered on the day Xu Jie returned to Songjiang. If nothing unexpected happens, Xu Jie will definitely "inadvertently" the content of the letter, so that those who are preparing to take advantage of the situation and see... Mr. Chen still recognizes him as his teacher.
But after so many cruel struggles, silence is no longer naive. He will not naively think that as long as his letter is revealed to the world, the rumors will disappear. In fact, those official parasites who only know how to flatter and eliminate dissidents will not know what it means to stop. Once they are sure that this is really their weakness, they will definitely pursue and fight relentlessly. They will never give up without completely slandering themselves.
If the Ming Dynasty wanted to reform, it would have to eliminate these rotten maggots. In Shen Mo's heart, they had already been sentenced to death. However, he was once a member of the Xu Party. Xu Jie was still solemnly entrusting those people to him before leaving, and their "counter" was indeed effective... This forced Chen Mo to estimate the impact and could not do it himself.
Moreover, even if you want to do it yourself, it is not that easy, because Xu Jie has found a guardian for his gangsters - that is, Zhao Zhenji, the newly entered the cabinet.
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After a series of interests, the court promoted the court the following month after Xu Jie left Beijing. As a result, the left censor Zhao Zhenji and the Minister of Rites Gao Yi, two famous old ministers, both entered the cabinet, increasing the number of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet to six. Moreover, these two people entered the cabinet and did not resign from their original positions, but they were still in charge of the Censorate and the Ministry of Rites respectively. The latter was fine, not in the year of the competition, and the Ministry of Rites really had nothing to do, but the former was different. As Xu Jie's "entrusted to the orphans", they were really amazing.
Zhao Zhenji is Xu Jie's trump card. He was born in the fourth year of Zhengde, only four years older than Xu Jie. Jiajing passed the Jinshi and became a Hanlin student at the 14th. At that time, Zhang Juzheng was less than ten years old, and he was still a girl in silence... More importantly, for more than 30 years of ups and downs in the officialdom, Master Zhao had long established a renowned reputation of being upright and honest!
Zhao Zhenji was indeed a man. In the 29th year of Jiajing, when Altan attacked Beijing, Yan Song and Ding Rukui remained in control of the army, and the enemy was overwhelming. Jiajing asked for advice from the court officials, but no one said anything for a long time. Zhao Zhenji tried to disagree with the public and firmly opposed peace talks, and asked him to go to the front line to work hard. When Jiajing saw it, he was in a great mood and immediately promoted him to the office and asked him to go to "authorize the army."
After going to court, Zhao Zhenji went to Yan Song's mansion to pay a visit as usual, asking for a vote, but Yan Song avoided him. Zhao Zhenji was unable to catch Yan Song's godson Zhao Wenhua at the mouth of mén, and scolded him. Zhao Wenhua retorted a little, and was knocked to the ground by Zhao Zhenji, a black tiger, and left.
Yan Song was of course angry. He deliberately did not write the power of supervising the war when he was writing the bill, so that Zhao Zhenji could not move any troops to the front line. At that time, the enemy cavalry was flooded near the capital, and Zhao Zhenji dared not take a single soldier, and rode out of the city and rushed into the military camp. He comforted all the kings and soldiers to serve the kings. All the troops were moved and wept, willing to kill the enemy and serve the country. After hearing about it, the Tartars restrained and retreated slightly. Zhao Zhenji's reputation spread throughout the world.
However, in that era, it was not a time when he had the ability and could gain a foothold if he could make contributions, otherwise Hu Zongxian would not have bribed the Yan family's father and son with a reputation... After Altan stepped back, Yan Song immediately framed Zhao Zhenji. As a result, Zhao Laozi, who was still Zhao at that time, was beaten with a scepter and demoted to Guangxi to become a dictionary... Chen He and Shen Xiucai once held this position.
However, this old man was not depressed by this, and was still full of energy. After more than ten years, he was slowly promoted to the Minister of Rites, only one step away from entering the cabinet. However, the hardship did not seem to have caused him to get rid of his edges, and even on the eve of entering the cabinet, he publicly contradicted Yan Song, was dismissed, and was dismissed again... The only thing that is thankful is that he was not beaten this time.
In the new dynasty of Longqing, Zhao Zhenji, who had gone to the country with green clothes, finally returned to the court again. His style did not become smooth with age, and even became a little biased because of his overly bumpy experience. Except for Xu Jie, he would never be willing to look at anyone... Of course, he also has this capital now. So he dared to point out the tricks of various departments and violated discipline in the department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and was not afraid of offending them. In fact, he has been an official for forty years, not because he did not understand the unspoken rules of the officialdom, but because he is approaching the age of twilight, and Zhao Zhenji is very moved by Emperor Longqing and Xu Ge Lao, who gave him this opportunity to fulfill his long-cherished wish and show his talents, so he decided to let go and take out his scholarly book and do a big fight!
So from the first day of entering the cabinet, this old man did not take the rules of seniority seriously. What happened to your chief minister? He just wrote the non-gun minister. What happened to the second assistant? When I was admitted to the Jinshi, your father had not married your mother. There was also Chen Yiqin, who was the fellow villager who always called me "brother" back then. As for Zhang Juzheng, hum... Since then, since he entered the cabinet, the four original brothers in the cabinet have not lived a comfortable day.
I don’t know if this old man Zhao has reached menopause or has not digested it after eating it. In short, it is abnormal and keen on causing trouble. He has to find trouble all day long. From Li Chunfang to Silence to Chen Yiqin, as long as he doesn’t like it, he will be scolded by him... But the most tragic thing is that Zhang Juzheng is cold every day and has great psychological pressure.
Why? Because Zhao Zhenji disliked Zhang Juzheng very much. He believed that this man was doing his own arbitrary behavior and Xu Ge Lao was unprincipled to protect him, which led to losing fairness and losing the hearts of the people. Only then did the Xu Party fall into this place today. The main responsibility for Xu Party's fall was Zhang Juzheng. You said that Lao Zhao would be annoyed if he disappeared.
Zhao Zhenji is another xingzi who doesn't see any sand in his eyes. In the past, he would at most curse Zhang Juzheng behind his back. Now, the two of them are in the same cabinet and face each other day. Zhang Juzheng gets angry with him... Whenever he discusses topics at a meeting, Zhang Juzheng is about to speak, and Lao Zhao always waves to Zhang Zi: "This is not something you xiǎo people can understand." Zhang Juzheng can't say a word, and he is blocked and sulks in his stomach.
At first, Zhang Juzheng wanted to get along well with this Xu Dang Yuan, but after he was blocked several times, he would not say anything as long as Zhao Zhenji was there. Who knew that there was no way to play without saying anything? The cabinet minister sat down and discussed it. When it comes to classics and history and Xuan Chan, Zhao Zhenji would explain the meaning of the subtle words, and then asked Zhang Juzheng with a smile: "How is it, profound, right? You xiǎo people who only know Han and Liu Wen, it is too early to be a Grand Secretary!
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Zhang Juzheng was so depressed that he was simply out of the way... By the way, he was a very smart person, but because the silent guy relied on the foresight, he kept showing weakness with him and showing weakness, which made him judge the wrong situation. At a wrong time, he fought a wrong war with a wrong opponent, and the result was naturally doomed. However, from the failure, he learned a lot of lessons, and coupled with the teacher's face-to-face teaching before leaving, Zhang Juzheng regained his confidence and decided to go out again to recover the lost territory.
He made three tricks in total. The first step was to help the emperor achieve the expulsion of Xu Jie and make a smooth transition. The second step was that when he met the saint, he suggested to the emperor that in order to stabilize the overall situation of the post-Xu Jie era, Gao Gongqian was restored to power. These were all actions that were deeply in line with the emperor's heart, which made Long Qing overjoyed. From then on, the king and his ministers resolved their past grudges, and their feelings were better than those in the past.
After these two tricks, Zhang Juzheng stabilized his position, but he could not change his dilemma at the end of the cabinet rankings. For this reason, he launched a third attack. Just one month after Xu Jie stepped down, he applied a "Chen Liushi Memorial" and proposed to the emperor six major suggestions: "Provincial discussions, revitalization, emphasis on edicts, verification of the name, consolidate the country's foundation, and order military preparations"! In short, it is to require the emperor to strengthen authority, unify his thinking, and obey orders! We must rectify the administration of officials, rectify finance, and strengthen national defense!
This is calling for the emperor to be dictatorial!
It was this last move that distinguished Zhang Juzheng from ordinary officials who played non-power. The reason why he called on the emperor to strengthen his authority and adopt dictatorship was not just for himself... Because everyone knows that the current emperor is a person who is not interested in governing the country at all. He never lets the cabinet do it, and he will never be able to become dictatorial! Zhang Juzheng knows this very well.
That should be a cabinet dictatorship!
However, the cabinet chief and Chen Yiqin are both well-educated scholars. They are invincible in the world and powerless to do it... In peacetime, they are still competent to hold state affairs, but they are asked to give the Ming Dynasty a broken ship that was air-exposed and leaking in the storm. I am afraid that even themselves dare not say it is the material! So only responsible and capable people are left to helm the country.
However, the cabinet chief and Chen Yiqin were both well-educated intellectuals. During the peace period, they were quite competent to hold state affairs, but they were asked to helm the Ming Dynasty, a broken ship with air leakage, in the storm. I am afraid that even themselves would not dare to say that it was the material! So only responsible and capable people were left to helm the country.
There are not many such people, only him and Shen Mo in the cabinet, and Gao Suqing was the one in the opposition. For at least a few years, he had no idea of ​​competing with these two people, but with his understanding of these two people, no matter who has the power of the country, it is impossible for him to continue state affairs. There must be some drastic reforms... The only difference is that if it were Gao Gongdao, he would definitely go into battle and reform himself; and if he was silent, he would definitely sit firmly on Diaoyutai and direct others to do it.
No matter which one is better than the current lukewarm slow suicide.
However, his move caused many Qingliu to be unhappy. What does it mean to be 'provincial'? Don't let everyone speak? Want to be a sect? What does it mean to be a 'high edict'? You want to take power and dictatorship? Are you worthy? Not only does the censor dislike him, but many senior officials and ministers also dislike him.
Zhao Zhenji was the one who dissatisfied with him the most. He believed that this move was "total opposition to the political system" and once said bitterly: "This is good at meeting the king like this!" Even Xu Jie did not agree, thinking that he was "cào".
As a result, Zhang Juzheng waited for a while, but did not see any reaction from the emperor. He also waited for news that Zhao Zhenji entered the pavilion. He really didn't catch the fox and even got into trouble!
As Zhao Zhenji was promoted to the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng even wanted to settle for the second best. He was called by Master Zhao, "Zhang Zi comes, Zhang Zi goes" all day long... If there was no Si Zhilang or the servant next to him, Zhao Zhenji would say to Zhang Juzheng like a servant: "Zhang Zi, pour a cup of tea!" "Zhang Zi, the paper is gone, go get some!"
The old man Zhang Ge was a child prodigy since he was a child. He had people who appreciate him all the way and had never been so humiliated in his life! But he really couldn't conflict with the elder Xu Party, so he pretended not to see him. Zhao Zhenji sneered: "The young people today are indeed uneducated!" He still instructed him to remain the same next time.
Zhang Juzheng suspected that if Zhao Zhenji continued like this, would he die before he could succeed... he was angry to death by him. So he wrote another letter, asking the emperor to rise up and go out of the mountain.
In fact, Long Qing had this idea for a long time, but when he felt that Xu Jie had just left, he recalled his mortal enemy. This was not a clear slap in the face of Mr. Xu... Long Qing was a kind person. He felt that Xu Jie was walking happily and thought he had seen the wrong person. So he not only felt disgusted against him, but also felt a little guilty. Not only did he meet the requirements of this old man, but he also began to take care of his feelings.
Originally, Longqing planned to use this team to survive this year, but Mr. Zhang's persuasion was very successful, which made him start to shake, so he sent someone to Shen Mo for advice.
In the past few months, Shen Mo has completed the most necessary personnel arrangements. When will Gao Gong return, it will have little impact on his group's interests. However, the impact on the country is huge... He can't resist Lao Zhao's strength. In April this year, Altan has invaded the border, and Shen Mo has ordered Wang Chonggu, Ma Fang and others to defend strictly. Judging from his troops, morale and training level on the front line of Xuanda, even if he cannot block Altan from the country, he can still make him afraid to go deep into the mainland.
Therefore, in order to show the enemy's weakness, in order to paralyze the enemy, and create a good opportunity for the next step of dispatch. He did not order the troops of the other military towns to be dispatched, nor did he transfer Qi Jiguang's troops to train troops in Ji Town. This was originally a conclusion drawn after the Ministry of War's careful consideration... However, when Zhao Zhenji learned about this, he was furious and asked him to immediately martial law in the capital and mobilize troops from various towns to Beijing to serve the king!
Shen Mo patiently explained to him that even if the ancients bypassed the defense line, it would not matter if they were close to the capital. Because the city of Beijing was high and thick, with its current military strength, it was enough to complete the defense. Just let the towns guard the households tightly and not let Altan take advantage of it. The enemy would not have the advantage and could only retreat on their own.
But Zhao Zhenji thought that this was a scholar talking about war and the way to destroy the country. He was unable to refute it because he was silent, so he said, "Before you have broken up, I have fought with the Tartars!" He also said to Li Chunfang: "Weapon is a major matter of the country, a place of life and death, and we must observe it! How can we make a decision for Huangkouzi?" He insisted on asking him to do it according to his intention.
Although he was full of knowledge and was full of knowledge, he was helpless about this old man Zhao Ge who had changed drastically since he entered the cabinet. It was because he walked more bridges than he had traveled, ate more salt than he ate, and had his own stubborn views on everything, and would never be convinced by his son.
Zhang Juzheng could not bear to watch it anymore, and he started arguing with Zhao Zhenji on the spot... The chief assistant Li Chunfang was at a loss and could not control the situation of the meeting. Everyone talked and finally decided to raise their hands to vote. As a result, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi were silent, Li Chunfang and Zhao Zhenji and Chen Yiqin were on the side, because Li Chunfang was the chief assistant, and he made a decision when the draw. To be on the safe side, the cabinet finally issued the order to defend the king.
In the end, I didn't even see Altan's shadow. After a month of defense in the capital, it was lifted and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were vain.
This incident completely disappointed Chen Si... It is hard to imagine that the most powerful country in the world was managed by such a group of waste. A border battle at xiǎoxiǎo made the center luàn, and he had the face to say what the country was like a tiger? In history, only the country could be vital. If the government is like a sheep, the country would be in a pack of wolves. What can you do if you shout "Axiom is above" a thousand times?
Based on this background, Chen Si agreed with Gao Gong's immediate return, so he nodded silently to the emperor's messenger.
Seeing that even the two students of Mr. Xu didn't care, Long Qing naturally had no worries, so he immediately sent someone to issue an order and retaliate Gao Gong and return to Beijing quickly.
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Chapter completed!