The reason why Gao Gong's heart was moved was because of Zhang Juzheng.
Zhang Juzheng's recent reaction didn't seem to be anything special, but he learned a rumor from some channels that the last time Zhang Juzheng came to speak to Xu Jie, he received 30,000 taels of silver from the Xu family.
This incident made Gao Gong very unhappy.
But the source of his unhappiness is not Zhang Juzheng's cashier itself - Xu Jie is your benefactor. I know this. Their family is in trouble. In the name of a descendant of the Xu family, I will give you, "senior brother", some money. Please Say something to them and ask for mercy. It’s not that I can’t understand. But you and I have been colleagues for many years, so you don’t know how I treat you? I, Gao Suqing, can afford the term "both teacher and friend"!
But what about you, Zhang Taiyue? You kept me in the dark and told me so many truths without shame, as if you planned for me wholeheartedly. Did you really feel no guilt when you said those words?
Zhang Taiyue, Zhang Taiyue, you are my favored successor. After all, this matter is related to your favor. I can treat it as nothing happened, but next time... I hope you won't let me down again.
Just when Gao Gong was disappointed with Zhang Juzheng in his heart, Zhang Juzheng was writing a letter in the duty room of the cabinet.
This letter was written to Yin Zhengmao, who was about to take up his new post as governor of Guangxi.
Yin Zhengmao was born in She County. His first ancestor was Yin Xunze in the late Southern Song Dynasty. In the first year of Deyou's reign, he led troops with Jia Sidao from Lin'an to Wuhu to defend the enemy, and was defeated. Yin Xun retreated to She County along the original route and settled at the south gate of the county. The following generations achieved great local fame. But by the time of the tenth generation grandson Yin Zhengmao, the Yin family was already quite depleted.
In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing's reign, thirty-four-year-old Yin Zhengmao, who had studied hard for many years, finally became a Jinshi in high school. This brought new glory and hope to the Yin family, which had been in decline for a long time. Due to his high ranking, he was soon promoted to the military department and was assigned to Shizhong.
In his early years, Yin Zhengmao actually made his mark in the court with his image of being unafraid of powerful people, upright and outspoken, and attracted the attention of the cabinet. So not long after, he was sent out for training, and served successively as deputy military envoy to Guangxi, Yunnan, and Huguang, and then moved to Jiangxi as deputy envoy.
Because he had a reputation for being upright and outspoken in his early years, the relationship between Yin Zhengmao and Zhang Juzheng, who was the same year, was not bad at that time. Not to mention a close friendship, at least they were close. Later, Zhang Juzheng gained Xu Jie's unique position, and he was directly appointed to the cabinet by a Hanlin scholar. Yin Zhengmao often wrote to and from Zhang Juzheng. It is not an exaggeration to say that he was a political ally.
However, perhaps because he believed that he had the responsibility to revitalize the family, although Yin Zhengmao had outstanding abilities after being released, especially good at solving crimes and military affairs, he became more and more focused on money. It is hard to say whether his service as an official has benefited anyone, but he has done a good job for the people under his rule. His handling of cases can also be said to be fair, and many people who have been wronged have been exonerated. However, Yin Zhengmao never refuses his filial piety to his subordinates, and even takes the initiative to hint. His name of greed and despicableness also comes from this.
Later generations often said that Yin Zhengmao was corrupt. In fact, it was probably because Yin Zhengmao belonged to Zhang Juzheng's faction, and after Zhang Juzheng was liquidated by Wanli, many officials promoted by Zhang Juzheng were heavily corrupted.
Generally speaking, Yin Zhengmao is very talented, and he is indeed a bit corrupt as an official, but generally speaking, this corruption is mainly towards his subordinate bureaucrats - filial piety is actually a chronic disease in officialdom, but if it is just It is difficult to say exactly what constitutes corruption and bribery if it is collected according to certain hidden rules.
After all, the conviction of accepting bribes depends on what the person has done. In the eyes of future generations, it is a transaction of power and money. However, Yin Zhengmao only received "regular money" and did not provide much concrete help, so he could continue to serve as an official intact while gaining a reputation as "corrupt". Otherwise, with such a reputation for being greedy and covetous, would there really be no censor to take part in his book?
The reason why Gao Gong agreed to Yin Zhengmao's departure was because he said, "Give him an extra 200,000 yuan so that he can be greedy." In fact, he knew clearly in his heart that Yin Zhengmao, the soldier's salary man, would never be greedy. He had other ways: for example, his subordinates There must be some who are free of charge. As long as Yin Zhengmao seizes the handle of these subordinates and gives a little hint, how dare these subordinates not increase his salary by a few percent or even several times more in various "regular tributes" every year?
In this way, the money can still be obtained, and Yin Zhengmao has nothing worth mentioning - it's just filial piety, which of you won't accept it? The big bosses in the imperial court are also paying homage to me!
Therefore, the main reason why Gao Gong was willing to let Yin Zhengmao be transferred from Jiangxi inspector to Guangxi governor was because he valued Yin Zhengmao's talents.
However, Zhang Juzheng naturally did not write like this in his letter to Yin Zhengmao.
The general meaning of the letter is this:
Brother Yin had served in Guangxi before and was familiar with the scenery and terrain of Guangxi. Now there is another unrest in Guangxi. Since the Japanese pirates have repeatedly invaded Guangdong, the officers and soldiers in Guangdong are exhausted. Therefore, the trouble in Guangxi is going to be settled, and Guangxi's troops are needed. I have long known that Brother Yin is a great talent, so I have recommended him many times. However, Li Chunfang did not understand military affairs before and thought that the rebellion in Guangxi was not a big deal, so she put it off. Now that Gao Gong is back, he still understands military affairs, but Li Qian, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, is the same year as him. He still hopes that Li Qian can put down the rebellion and win this special achievement.
I, Zhang Juzhi, made all kinds of excuses and begged me, but Gao Gong finally relaxed a little and allowed you, Brother Yin, to quell the chaos. However, although Li Qian was not very good at fighting, after all, his qualifications were there, and Gao Gong also needed such a frontier official to cheer him up, so he refused to let you be the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and was only willing to let you be the governor of Guangxi.
Of course I know that with your talents, Brother Yin, being a mere governor of Guangxi is really humiliating, but with the current state of affairs, I still hope that Brother Yin can accept it for the time being and deal with the chaos in Guangxi and Guangxi first. As for the Central Committee, Brother Yin, just rest assured. The court owes you today. Even if I, Zhang Juzheng, owe you, I will definitely make up for it in the future...
In short, one sentence: Gao Gong really doesn't want you to get such a great merit. He wants his people to get such a great merit. It's just that the current situation is corrupt and only you, Yin Zhengmao, can solve it, and I, Zhang Juzheng, am the one who supports you the most. Up and down the court, I, Zhang Juzheng, am the only one who insists on speaking for you and giving you a chance to show off your skills. For this reason, I even lowered my face and asked Gao Gong, and finally got you this governor of Guangxi. Don’t dislike it...
After writing the letter, Zhang Juzheng smiled, dried the ink and put it away.
At this time, he recalled the scene when the previous cabinet passed the emperor's edict.
"Gao pragmatism..." Zhang Juzheng murmured to himself: "It's a good time for you to have a baby. If it weren't for the fact that only Jian Xiu in my family happened to be the same age as the prince, how could you be allowed to rely on the prince so easily? That useless snack Li Chunfang is even more He has no foresight, and he dares not object even when things have reached this level. It seems that his days in the cabinet are numbered."
