"Taiyue, what do you mean by Gao Suqing bringing a child to meet us?" Chen Yiqin looked at the back of Gao Gong's carriage heading towards the palace, and asked Zhang Juzheng beside him with suspicion.
Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and shook his head: "I also don't understand, but this child is only about seven or eight years old. It is quite rare that he has no stage fright after meeting so many important officials of the court. I think Mr. Xuan is today He shows that he attaches great importance to this child, is he going to be adopted?"
Chen Yiqin suddenly realized it and slapped his forehead: "Yes, Gao Suqing has no son. He just said that this child is the son of his sixth son... I'm afraid it's just like what you said. He wanted to take over and give him Gao Laosan's son. It’s so popular.” Then he turned around and asked Li Chunfang, “What do you think of the chief minister?”
Li Chunfang smiled with a smile on her face: "It's good to adopt. Brother Zhongxuan is the pillar of the country and will be kind to his descendants in the future. Wouldn't it be a waste not to have a son? Even the emperor would definitely feel regretful if Brother Zhongxuan really died without an heir. .”
Zhang Juzheng saw Li Chunfang smiling easily, and knew that because Li Chunfang had just ignored the past, he felt that the chance of cabinet discord was greatly reduced, so he was happy.
He had a smile on his face, but he couldn't help but sneer in his heart, and said to himself: "How can such a good old man be the first assistant? Since Gao Suqing and his teacher left office one after another, the authority of the cabinet has become worse day by day, and the dispute between the cabinet and the ministry is almost over. Now that he has come to the forefront, and now there is an extra Zhao Zhenji who is in charge of the public opinion in the cabinet, and he always relies on his seniority to dominate, the whole cabinet is in a mess. Without a powerful minister to hold the line, I am afraid that this will happen. Cabinet decrees will be difficult to get out of the Meridian Gate! Alas, if not, why should I..."
Zhang Juzheng was thinking about this, suddenly remembered something, and asked Li Chunfang: "Mr. Zhao Ge refused to come to welcome you today. Although Duke Zhongxuan didn't mention this, it's hard to say whether he would be dissatisfied. Now the emperor is hosting a banquet in person. , summon him into the palace to have a meal together, if he makes a few words before the emperor..."
Li Chunfang's smile faltered, and she forced herself to smile and said: "Brother Zhongxuan is very generous and generous. Even if there were some... uh, some discords in the past, I will let them go today, let alone this trivial matter. Besides, Mr. Zhao Ge didn't come to greet you today, so that's why. It’s because he’s recuperating... I don’t think Brother Zhongxuan will hold any grudges about this.”
Hum hum, there was just some discord in the past?
Chen Yiqin snorted softly: "Let's not talk about whether we remember grudges or not. I'm afraid the chief assistant may have misunderstood Taiyue's meaning. He meant that if the emperor asked and Gao Suqing said that smoothly, then even if the emperor didn't reply But in the end, this matter cannot be hidden from Zhao Dazhou [Note: Zhao Zhenji, No. Dazhou.]. Even if Gao Suqing does not hold grudges, what about Zhao Dazhou? What is Zhao Dazhou’s situation in the cabinet right now, others don’t know, we Don’t the three of them know? If he thinks that Gao Suqing is trying to break up with him, I think there will probably be another commotion and no peace of mind."
The veins on Li Chunfang's thin cheeks jumped twice, and she suddenly asked anxiously: "What should we do?"
At this time, Zhang Juzheng was no longer anxious and waved his hand: "Actually, these are all trivial matters. Maybe the emperor was so happy when he saw Brother Zhongxuan that he forgot to ask about it... The question before the cabinet now is, Yan Lu takes the cabinet less and less seriously, and there are many people in the Six Ministries who rely on Yan Lu's prestige and want to decentralize power from the cabinet. But they don't want to think about what will happen among them if there is no cabinet to take charge of political affairs. If we are used to arguing with each other, then the whole Ming court will just quarrel all day long, what else can we accomplish?"
Li Chunfang nodded with deep sympathy and said: "Yes, now people like Yan Lu are like monks holding umbrellas and are lawless. Alas, when Huating Gong was here, Yan Lu could still listen to greetings to some extent, why now? …”
Zhang Juzheng's eyes twitched and he said nothing. According to his opinion, when Xu Jie was in power, was he very polite? I'm afraid it's not necessarily the case, but it just so happens that Xu Jie and Yan Lu have the same goal, and Xu Jie has always indulged Yan Lu, so Yan Lu seems to be "acceptable", but it was Xu Jie's indulgence that caused him to After stepping down, his speech was almost completely out of control. However, Xu Jie was his mentor, and it was impossible for Zhang Juzheng to speak ill of him at this time.
Chen Yiqin didn't have to worry about it and said bluntly: "Mr. Huating may have a lot of good intentions, but the responsibility for condoning his words can only be on him. Remember how the late emperor had such rules in his words? If it weren't for Duke Huating's introduction, he would have fallen down. Gao Suqing, why are you so arrogant and domineering today and unable to control your words?"
Li Chunfang was a good gentleman. Although he could actually see the reason, he did not dare to tell him. However, he did not expect that Chen Yiqin was really disappointed with the current situation, so he dared to speak out. Li Shoufu immediately hesitated and didn't say a word for a long time.
In fact, although what Chen Yiqin said was a bit absolute, it was generally good. It was indeed because of Xu Jie that he became so rampant in his words. But having said that, the reason why Xu Jie later resigned was directly related to his indulgent speech.
At the beginning, the so-called "Manchu Dynasty reversed Gong" was actually the core force controlled by Xu Jie. After Gao Gong became an official, Xu Jie came back to take charge amidst the calls of hundreds of officials. This war of words ended with Xu Jie's victory, and Xu Jie's reputation grew.
The situation at that time was that Xu Jie relied heavily on Yanguan and showed favor to them in everything; Yanguan also relied on Xu Jie's rising prestige and became more and more self-aggrandizing. No matter how attached the emperor was to the previous expulsion of Gao Gong, he had to compromise in the end. The officials then became more and more convinced that the emperor was different from the previous emperor and that he was a weak person who could be bullied. Since then, the officials have become more and more unscrupulous in their speeches, and they almost have to compete with the emperor regardless of public or private affairs.
Of course, some of these arguments were reasonable suggestions, such as the request to restrain the eunuchs from exercising their power; however, most of them were trivial matters that had nothing to do with the national economy. For example, the emperor was prohibited from going to Yudi to reminisce; the emperor was prohibited from going to the outskirts of Beijing to relax; he was suspected of having the intention of traveling at public expense and was prohibited from going to Mount Tai to worship, etc. There was a strong trend to imprison the emperor and feed him as a pig. Even the private affairs of the palace must be brought out with great fanfare, discussed in a grand manner, and the truth must be spoken with righteousness. All these things made even Emperor Longqing, who had a good temper and had nothing to say, get angry from time to time - but after he got angry, he couldn't do anything and could only forcefully swallow his anger.
In fact, if the emperor went to Qiandi to relax and reminisce, would this huge country be destroyed?
It's pure bullshit.
But that’s not the case, so why be alarmist!
I would like to think that this group of seven-foot-old men and hot-blooded heroes who control the public opinion and justice of the country, ignore the many shortcomings of political affairs, focus on the family's shortcomings, keep an eye on the emperor's private life, and make irresponsible remarks, so tirelessly chatting, How is she different from the village woman in Lishe? However, they still feel complacent and think of themselves as righteous people, but in fact they only make future generations laugh.
And Xu Jie's partiality towards Yan Guan gradually lost its principles - or in other words, he had no principles to restrain Yan Lu's various behaviors.
In July of the first year of Longqing, the emperor ordered the cabinet to conduct an inspection of Kedao. Officials who are honest, selfless and competent will not be afraid of assessment. This is not an excessive requirement, but Xu Jie remonstrated with the emperor in order to protect the official.
Yes, even the emperor’s routine assessment of officials was rejected by the chief minister!
At this time, the emperor could be said to be completely controlled by the civil service group headed by Xu Jie, and could not accomplish anything he wanted to do.
It was this kind of failure in everything that gradually wore away the emperor's patience. The clay figurine still has a certain earthy nature. In the past, Emperor Longqing was a little wary of these people because they attacked his most trusted mentor, Gao Gong. Now, these people are becoming more and more arrogant, insisting on taking even trivial matters to the forefront. There are already arguments to be made if there are reasons, and three points of trouble if there are no reasons! At this point, who could become the emperor without hating them? Therefore, naturally, they also disliked Xu Jie, the chief assistant who always blindly supported them.
However, mere dislike has no practical significance. The emperor has no one to rely on in the outer court, and he himself is timid and cowardly. He gets angry in private. Something really happened, and he really doesn't dare to fight with Xu Jie, so he can only give instructions occasionally. , a slight expression of dissatisfaction - that's it, I don't dare to express this dissatisfaction too much, for fear of being caught again, being reprimanded by the officials, and even eating a meal.
For example, in September, due to the affairs of the internal government, there was a lot of discussion about Kedao again. Xu Jie expressed support for Yanlu on behalf of the cabinet as always. Ke Dao's remarks were often too extreme, and the emperor couldn't bear it. He issued a handwritten letter complaining to the cabinet, saying with great grievance: "For such a small matter, the officials say I am not the one, and your cabinet also says I am not the one. What do you want?"
Pushing the emperor to such an extent, no matter what the matter, no matter which dynasty he was in, seemed to be a bit excessive. But the emperor's weakness gave the officials more and more excuses to bully the weak and fear the strong. Emperor Longqing was originally a benevolent and gentle king, known for his benevolence, frugality and generosity. However, he was repeatedly attacked using excuses, and he had reached the limit of his patience. Under such circumstances, the emperor naturally missed Gao Gong more and more.
When the water is full, it overflows, and when the moon waxes and wanes, just as the prosperity of a person must decline. Looking back, Xu Jie's ups and downs in the political arena in the early years of Longqing can be said to be "a success can be judged by an official, and a failure can be judged by an official": relying on the public opinion created by his words, he reached the peak of his reputation; but also because of his indulgent words, he lost his reputation. The trust of the royal family was later directly approved by the emperor in a tentative resignation, and he returned home sadly. He was shrewd throughout his life and was able to serve the moody Jiajing Emperor with ease, but he could not please the cowardly and clumsy Jin Shang. The reason behind this is really thought-provoking.
But this was not the time to think deeply, so Zhang Juzheng spoke: "How things got to this point is not important now. What is important now is that we should see that we now have the ability and reason to suppress our opinions. There is only one person.”
Li Chunfang saw Zhang Juzheng's eyes fixed on Gao Gong and his entourage who were heading towards the palace, and suddenly realized: "So you are talking about Duke Zhongxuan...ah, that's right! If there is anyone who can suppress the words now, I'm afraid it's not the only one besides Gao Suqing. The two of them thought, well, you have been working hard to mediate for the restoration of Zhongxuan Gong, could it be because of this?" Li Chunfang was not angry that she, the first assistant, was ignored by Zhang Juzheng. This... well, she was quite self-aware.
After hearing this, Chen Yiqin said half suddenly and half hesitantly: "Although Gao Suqing has won the trust of the emperor, his previous resignation was because he was defeated by Yan Lu. He almost returned to the fields and died of old age in the forest. This time he finally came out again. , how do you know if he still dares to continue to go against Yanlu?"
Zhang Juzheng laughed and said confidently: "I expect that he will definitely take action to curb this rampant situation of speech."
Chen Yiqin looked at him with great interest and insisted: "Tai Yue must be relying on someone to speak so boldly, but I can't figure out the reason. I dare to ask: How can you see it?"
"The reason is: Gao Gong is a person who wants to do things."
Not to mention Li Chunfang, even Chen Yiqin admitted this sentence frankly, without any refutation, and remained silent in acquiescence.
So Zhang Juzheng put away his smile and said seriously: "But in the current situation, if he wants to do things, he can't let people in his ears make noises and restraints all day long. It is only logical to take action to suppress his speech."
Chen Yiqin thought for a while, but still refused to give in, saying: "Yes, he is such a person, but this only shows that Gao Suqing has reasons to deal with Yan Guan, but it does not mean that he must have such strength."
Zhang Juzheng's face became more and more serious, and he even remained silent for a while, and then he spoke word by word: "The official is like fire, and the chief assistant is like wind."
Chen Yiqin fell silent. He understood what Zhang Juzheng meant: If the wind is not strong enough, no matter how hard it blows, it will only increase the intensity of the fire; but if the wind is strong enough and violent enough, it can blow out the fire. Official fire...
As for the high arch, I am afraid that at the very least it can be regarded as a strong wind, and it may even be a hurricane!
