As we all know, the Ming Dynasty implemented a two-capital system.
In addition to the capital, Nanjing also had a court structure, but its jurisdiction was limited to Southern Zhili.
After three generations of management by Taizong, Renzong, and Xuanzong, the political center of the Ming Dynasty has been completely transferred to the capital.
The imperial court structure in Nanjing has long existed in name only and has become a place for elderly officials to retire.
Moreover, what makes the elders feel speechless the most is.
Lord Tianguan, your retaliation is a bit too obvious, isn't it?
Since the death of the previous emperor, the Supreme Emperor Youchong and San Yang have been in charge. Their core philosophy is to "stop all non-urgent tasks". In addition, in order to avoid suspicion, they rarely recruit high-level officials on a large scale.
After the Supreme Emperor came to power, the situation improved, but the generals straightened out the affairs of the capital, and when San Yang was there, many of the vacant positions were slowly filled.
As for Nanjing, before he had time to make up for it, he happily went to stay in Yibei.
Of the two official positions that Wang Wen just mentioned, the position of Nanjing Zuo Fudu Censor is better. After all, it was vacant just last year when he became old and became an official.
But the Minister of Industry in Nanjing has been vacant for almost fifteen years, okay?
Wu Zheng, the assistant minister who is now in charge of the government, took office in the sixth year of Zhengtong. It has been almost ten years now. He complains about being tired every year, but he has not fallen behind at all in government affairs.
And this is not just the case for one department of the Nanjing Ministry of Industry. The positions of the Nanjing Household Department, Nanjing Rites Department, Nanjing Punishment Department, and the Chancellor are all vacant, and the minister is in charge of government affairs.
Wang Tianguan chose the lowest ranking Nanjing Ministry of Industry and brought it out. This was not a tactful bowing, it was clearly disgusting.
Therefore, after listening to this, Takagu's face suddenly became ashen and his face was ashen.
Of course, it was not easy for him to refuse such a thing, just like when the Manchu Dynasty besieged Wang Wen, Wang Wen did not open his mouth to defend himself.
But it doesn't matter, Gao Gu still has some business in the court over the years. The newly appointed Minister of Dali Temple, Du Ning, immediately stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate. The Minister of the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing has been vacant for a long time. It is not an urgent matter. The government affairs in Nanjing are not as good as those in the capital. Wu Zheng has been in the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing for many years and has handled things properly. Now is the time for the imperial court to employ people. It is not appropriate to rely on whims. Fighting has brought shame to your worthy ministers, so I beg your Majesty to think again."
Although this Du Ning had only just assumed the post of Minister of Dali Temple, his status and reputation in the court were not low.
This person was the second-ranked scholar in the second year of Xuande's reign. He was first assigned to the Hanlin Academy as an editor and participated in the compilation of Xuanzong's Records. He was born in Qingliu, a serious scholar.
In the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign, he and Takagu both served as examiners for the joint examination. Soon after, he was transferred to Nanjing as Minister of War, and was recalled to the capital in recent days.
If the group of ministers in Nanjing are purely for old age care, then the group of ministers in Nanjing are really working. After all, Nanzhili still has a lot of government affairs to deal with, whether it is big or small.
Although Du Ning did not stay long as the Minister of War in Nanjing, he had outstanding talents and managed all government affairs in an orderly manner.
After the news of the Tumu Battle spread, he wrote several memorials one after another, presenting his suggestions for border defense.
Many of them were directly adopted by Yu Qian. Because of this, after the court situation stabilized, he was recalled to the capital. He originally planned to fill Jiang Yuan's vacancy and become the Minister of Justice.
As a result, before the appointment was completed, Xue Xuan was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown due to the Zhennan King case, so he became the Minister of Dali Temple.
This person has ability, reputation, and connections. Although his qualifications are not as good as Gao Gu's, he is one of the most promising reserve figures in the Hanlin lineage.
Du Ning himself did not have a deep friendship with Gao Gu, and the only person who could influence him was Chen Xun, who was not in the capital now.
Therefore, when Gao Gu first came forward to impeach Wang Wen, Du Ning did not speak. But now, Wang Wenming is brazenly suppressing Gao Gu and wants to send him to Nanjing to idle, so Du Ning has to stop him.
After all, there are only a few people from the Hanlin lineage who can have a substantial say in the court, and among them Chen Xun and Gao Gu are the most respected.
Du Ning gave reasonable advice, but Shang Ren who came out next was not so polite and spoke directly.
"Your Majesty, as a minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wang Wen is narrow-minded and prone to revenge. Gao Cifeng cannot speak out and impartially. Even if he is offended, it is just a matter of different political opinions."
"Previously, Wang Wen's threats to the court officials were still ringing in his ears, but now he turned around and decided to transfer the dignified deputy minister he had just argued with to Nanjing. Is this behavior worthy of the position of Otsuka Prime Minister?"
This statement directly refers to Wang Wen's retaliation.
Du Ning on the side couldn't help but feel a little headache. After all, he had stayed in the Hanlin Academy for a long time and had never really participated in political affairs.
Don’t you see what the situation is like now?
On one side, he was cautiously trying to calm things down, but on the other side, he immediately began to intensify the conflict. He really failed to succeed but failed!
Sure enough, Wang Wen's face suddenly became a little ugly.
He didn't originally intend to actually kill Gao Gu, he just wanted to teach him a lesson, otherwise he wouldn't have done it so obviously.
But I didn't expect that these clear-minded people from the Hanlin Academy would get into trouble with their noses and faces. They were so unyielding. Do you really think he was a fool?
With a cold snort, Wang Wen said with a calm face.
"Then according to what Shang Shi read, what should I do?"
"In the case of Peng Shi, although he was mediocre and incompetent, and his evaluation was inferior, the officials had already planned to demote him, but after all, he was not brought before the emperor, and without Zhu's approval, I made a mistake for a moment, and I accepted it."
"However, among the various departments in Nanjing, the position of minister has been vacant for a long time. It is natural for the chief of the official department to select and recommend based on examples. The accuracy or failure is all up to your majesty. I have not violated the rules at all. It is difficult, because Gao Cifuxihe I had a conflict before, so the Ministry of Civil Affairs will have to avoid him at all times when selecting officials from now on, right?"
With that said, Wang Wen took a step forward, walked up to Shang Ren and asked.
"In this case, in front of the ministers and Your Majesty, I would like to ask the merchant to read a sentence. You keep saying that I and Gao Cifu just have different political opinions and are having normal arguments. So now, do you mean every word of yours? Aren’t you judging a gentleman’s heart with a villain’s heart?”
Shang Ren's face turned pale and he was speechless by this barrage of questions.
Du Ning sighed on the side, he was still too young and acted impulsively.
Do you really think Wang Wen is as impulsive as he seems on the surface?
If you, a mere Imperial Academy student, quarreled with a dignified official minister, you would only be treated as a joke.
It's not on the same level at all. Now I'm choked and speechless. I'm really asking for trouble.
After shaking his head, Du Ning cupped his hands again and said.
"Your Majesty, today is a matter for the court to discuss mutual trade. The various ministries in Nanjing have been vacant for a long time. The position of minister is also a second-rank official. It should not be awarded lightly. It requires more consideration. Therefore, I think that the official department will be in charge of the court recommendation at another day and will be discussed separately. , is more appropriate.”
In the court, the most taboo thing is disputes of spirit.
In this regard, Du Ning is much more clear-headed than Shang Ren. His goal is to keep Gao Gu.
In fact, both he and Wang Wen knew that it was impossible to transfer Gao Gu, a high-ranking assistant, to Nanjing to be idle just because of such a trivial matter.
After all, even if Takatani's words and deeds were slightly out of line just now, did he really make any mistakes?
Even if Wang Wen really wanted to do this, the emperor couldn't afford to lose this person, so there is a high probability that Wang Wen just wanted to make Gao Gu look bad.
All they had to do was to provide a step for Wang Wen'an to come down safely. There was no need to bother talking to him.
It's a pity that Shang Ren has been studying books and observing politics in the Hanlin Academy since he was a Jinshi. He has never really participated in the affairs of the court, so he still can't see this clearly.
As Du Ning expected, the messy situation underneath clearly made the emperor dissatisfied.
Therefore, after he finished playing, the emperor quickly answered.
"What Du Siqing said is reasonable. Today is not a discussion about the vacancies in various ministries in Nanjing. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will preside over the court recommendation on that day. Now the ministers should discuss carefully what the regulations for the mutual trade should be."
