As a result, Zhang Juzheng suddenly fell ill and died. As the saying goes, once the emperor is the same as the courtier, it is only right that they come to test the direction of the wind!
But while everyone was waiting to see the results, Wanli had already taken action! He pounded the table in the morning and said that the censor was "partnering for personal gain" and "corrupt and perverting the law", so he was demoted and sent out to Beijing to become a county administrator!
The censor is a lowly and powerful official, and he has the potential to rise to great heights! But being demoted to the position of chief secretary is the end of the world. There is no hope in this life! But who knows, maybe after his benefactor comes to power, he may return to the capital proudly!
As soon as this decision came out, the officials who were a little noisy immediately became quiet! The original intention of this censor is unknown, but in the eyes of others, it was a test, just to see what the royal family thought after Zhang Juzheng's death. Now everyone knows it! .Ь.
Even though the censor was dealt with so harshly, it still showed that someone wanted to take action against Zhang Juzheng's faction. This makes them sensitive! Officials of Zhang Juzheng's faction often discuss privately in twos and threes, and then seek support from their superiors. Some of them actually fall into chaos without fighting! Instead, they moved closer to Shen Shixing and others!
Seeing this scene made Zhang Siwei almost fall back with anger! As for who arranged for the censor to be tested, it was naturally Zhang Siwei himself! He originally wanted to take advantage of the chaos to gather some people, but he didn't expect that after messing up the situation, not only did he fail to achieve his goal, but something went wrong!
Zhang Siwei’s actions were certainly not without purpose! He had three purposes for doing this. The first purpose was to find those who opposed Zhang Juzheng among the officials!
When Zhang Juzheng was alive, he could be said to be unparalleled in the imperial court, so all my officials were in submission! But Zhang Siwei doesn’t believe that there are no people who are inconsistent with what they say! He felt that there must be many officials who were just afraid of Zhang Juzheng's power and bowed their heads temporarily!
Therefore, it is necessary to spend some money to have a censor come out for an interview! And he doesn't require those officials to jump out to support him immediately. He only needs to make some hints and express his attitude, and he can naturally win over these people!
At the same time, his second purpose of doing this was to send a signal to those who were demoted and relegated to officials when Zhang Ju was in power, or even resigned themselves, that someone in the court was already preparing to liquidate Zhang Juzheng! The grievances you suffered back then can be recovered! As long as these people express support for him, he can use his power to transfer these people back.
As for the third point, it is also the most critical point! That is to test the minds of Empress Dowager Li and Emperor Wanli! He must know how much weight Zhang Juzheng still has in their hearts! Will he be able to hold on as a New Deal royal? As long as the attitude of the royal family relaxes, the officials of the imperial court will naturally change their tune! This way he can recruit another group of officials! After a three-pronged approach, maybe he, the temporary chief assistant, will be able to completely secure his position!
After Zhang Siwei threw out the censor, he was already observing carefully! Although some officials with a heavy gambling mentality have expressed some attitudes, they are all small officials who cannot speak! In their opinion, their official position is small enough and it would not be a pity to lose it. If you win the bet, your career will be right in front of you! What's more, what they said is also ambiguous and cannot be used as evidence in court, but those who are interested will naturally understand!
However, in Zhang Siwei's view, these gains are nothing, the gains from the royal family are the real gains! Because the time when Emperor Wanli issued an order to deal with the salt merchants was the afternoon of the second day after the imperial official's memorial! This is enough time for people to enjoy it!
Zhang Siwei, who is familiar with the operating procedures of the cabinet, knows one thing clearly, that is, once this sensitive memorial is sent, neither the cabinet nor the Supervisor of Ceremonies will dare to hide it, and it will be sent to Wanli as soon as possible. Go to the emperor and let him make the decision!
Because the direction of this memorial is so strong that no one dares to ignore it! If Emperor Wanli's inner thoughts were the same as what he expressed in his will, then there should have been a decree to deal with it on the day the memorial was posted!
But Emperor Wanli was one day late when he issued the decree! Yes, the decree was issued after noon the next day! This shows that he is struggling inside! At the same time, what made Zhang Siwei even more reverie was that Liu Haojia entered the palace on the day the memorial was delivered, and did not leave the palace until more than an hour later.
He came out, and his expression was extremely serious!
Everyone knows that Zhang Jia and Liu Haojia are the two assistants and think tanks around Emperor Wanli, one civil and one military. This is a well-known fact! Whenever something big happened in the imperial court, Liu Haojia would always attack! And then Emperor Wanli will be flawless in his response!
And Emperor Wanli's actions showed that his heart was moved when he read the memorial, or at least he hesitated! This is not surprising. After all, he has been suppressed by Zhang Juzheng for many years like a puppet. How could he not hold any grudge in his heart!
Moreover, Zhang Siwei knew Emperor Wanli, and he was not an open-minded emperor! What's more, even an ordinary person who has been suppressed for more than ten years will inevitably get a little angry. Maybe when he has the power, he will clear out all the enemy's arrangements to vent his anger!
And this is what makes Zhang Siwei feel most happy! He seems to have seen what to do next? That is the opposite of Zhang Juzheng! And his psychology is also easy to understand! After all, there is only one emperor and one minister, and only those who are powerful and trusted in the court can carry out their own decrees!
As long as Emperor Wanli wants to liquidate Zhang Juzheng, he can take the opportunity to wipe out Zhang Juzheng's gang members and replace them all with his own people! Moreover, Zhang Juzheng's achievements are so great that he is somewhat difficult to imitate. If you follow his rhythm, you will only be considered incompetent!
So how to make yourself famous in history, that is, with the theme of observing the rules and regulations, breaking all Zhang Juzheng's arrangements in one fell swoop, can you show the difference between him and Zhang Juzheng! Only then can you prove that you abide by the saint's way!
Zhang Siwei’s ideas are not uncommon in officialdom! When a new official takes office, he must overturn certain practices of the previous one in order to show his ability. This is already a chronic disease in officialdom!
Naturally, the people at the moment don't know about the strange situation in the court, but everyone who has something to do with the officialdom is paying attention! Now except for a few people, no one can figure out what is going on?
Just when Zhang Siwei was helpless, Zhang Yuanfeng found him again! At this time, Zhang Yuanfeng no longer looked as carefree as he did at first, because after his meeting with Zhang Siwei, the crisis was exposed, and he was so frightened that he couldn't help himself!
