When Gao Gongshi walked into Gao Gong's duty room, Gao Gong was holding a piece of manuscript in a daze. At this moment, his face seemed a little gloomy and even a little lost. He didn't respond even when Gao Gongshi called him.
Somewhat surprised, Gao Gong walked up to Gao Gong. Gao pragmatically took a look and saw that the handwriting on the paper looked quite familiar, with iron hooks and silver hooks, elegance and strength implicit in it.
Gao pragmatism became interested and looked at it carefully. He saw it said: "Today, Zi Ji ordered you to be secret. Who will become Wang Xian? His appointment was not under the Duke of Zhou, and everyone inside and outside Bohai was in trouble. Praise for the great virtues. That is to say, my servant, I was fortunate enough to participate in the state affairs after joining the Duke. I have been here for five years. Every time the Duke comes down, I will consult with him about the affairs of the palace. I look forward to the friendship between Zhou and Zhao Jiafu. Prizes to the royal family are known to the gods.”
He had just seen this place when Gao Gong noticed his presence and suddenly said: "This is the Preface to the Sixtieth Birthday of Master Xuan Zhongxuan written by Zhang Taiyue for me last year when I was on my sixtieth birthday. You had already returned to Xinzheng to take the exam, hadn't you seen it? Here, take a look."
Gao Pingshi's heart moved, he took the manuscript and read it. After a while, he put down the manuscript and smiled: "Mr. Zhang Ge compared his third uncle to Duke Zhou and himself to Duke Zhao? Interesting..."
Gao Gong felt that there was something in his nephew's words, frowned slightly, and asked: "The two Dukes of Zhou and Zhao assisted in becoming kings and made great achievements that will be praised for thousands of years... What, do you think it is inappropriate?"
Gao pragmatic stretched out his hand and flicked the manuscript paper, and said: "The achievements of Zhou and Zhao are well known to the world, and at that time last year, it happened that only you two ministers were in office in the cabinet. He has such a comparison. It’s ordinary, it’s just...”
Gao Gong's heart moved and he asked: "But what?"
"It's just that there is a saying in "Shangshu": 'The Duke of Zhou is the teacher, the Duke of Zhao is the protector, the king of Xiangcheng is the right and left, and the Duke of Zhao does not say anything (Tongyue)'..." Gao pragmatically raised his eyebrows slightly, revealing an indescribable expression. Laughing: "In the past, Duke Zhao was displeased, but today's Duke is probably even more displeased, right? Why did the third uncle only think about the achievements of helping the second Duke become king, but ignore Duke Zhao's dissatisfaction with Duke Zhou?"
Gao Gong was silent for a while, then suddenly sighed and said: "I've been thinking recently that Taiyue and I have been friends for many years and have looked forward to each other's careers. What a close friendship we have... What is the relationship between the two of us? When did you gradually get to where you are today?"
In fact, Gao Pingshi already had an answer to this question, but he didn't want to show it. He pretended to think about it and then said, "Does Third Uncle remember the edict prepared by Duke Xu Huating for the late emperor?"
Gao Gong's face darkened and he said coldly: "Of course I remember."
"The edict drafted by Huating Gong was contrary to what the late emperor had done during the Great Ceremony Conference, which restored all those who had been demoted due to the Great Ceremony Conference. Later, when the third uncle came back to power, he reversed the matter... …San Bo, please don’t forget that the person who drafted the edict at that time was not only Xu Huating, but also Zhang Jiangling.”
Gao Gong suddenly felt stunned, and then felt sad.
In the past, Shizong had demoted many people because of his great rites. After Shizong's death, Xu Jie used his posthumous edict to appoint these people. Later, when Gao Gong came to power, he opposed Xu Jie's treatment and dismissed them again.
At that time, Gao Gongshu said, "The Ming Lun Ceremony has been promulgated for a long time. Now the ministers who are discussing the matter are pretending to be an imperial edict. Anyone who offends the ceremony will be rewarded. How can I enjoy the spirit of the emperor who is present in the temple? The spirit of the late emperor is in heaven." , why do you care? And when your majesty entered the temple at a young age, why did you treat the two saints of Yue? I think it is too much." The "Xianhuang" here refers to the father of Jiajing and the grandfather of Longqing, who was named after Jiajing. This is the great gift. As for the late emperor, he naturally refers to Jiajing.
What Gao Gong said was that before Shizong's death, he was promoted one by one because of his belief in the so-called elixir provided by a group of alchemists such as Wang Jin, Tao Fang, Tao Shi'en, Liu Wenbin, and Gao Shouzhong. After Shizong's death, Xu Jie announced the so-called Jiajing Edict, blaming them, so the group of people were imprisoned, awaiting execution.
From the first year of Longqing to the fourth year of Longqing, the situation continued. It was not until Gao Gong restored the pavilion that he reported: "The emperor met his untimely fate and did not have a good end. His name is not beautiful. The late emperor has been in the imperial court for forty-five years. He was more than sixty years old, fell ill in his last years, visited guests during his menstruation, and passed the imperial examination, without any violence. Now it is said that the late emperor was harmed by the king's money, and he was falsely accused of not having a good death. Why do future generations of the world regard the late emperor as the master? I beg the court to change the opinion. !”
This means that although the late emperor loved the alchemists, he did not die at a young age. He was already over 60 years old at the time. Who can prove that he died after taking the elixir? If you go by your statement, then the late emperor will definitely bear a stigma. What is your intention in doing this?
Despite the alienation, Long Qing believed in Gao Gong's judgment as always. Although he had no feelings for his father in his heart, but he had no feelings anymore. This was also his father. He let his father's reputation be ruined by his ministers for no reason. what is the benefit? No. Therefore, Long Qing immediately approved what Gao Gong said, and Wang Jin and others were spared death and adapted the words to serve the people.
Gao pragmatism saw that Gao Gong understood what he was referring to, and said: "Third uncle, we all know that things like the imperial edict are actually just the opinions of the ministers, but at the beginning, in addition to Xu Huating, there was also Zhang Taiyue who presided over the imperial edict of Emperor Shizong. . This edict was later overturned by you. We don’t care how Xu Huating felt at that time, but Zhang Taiyue’s feelings are probably not good."
As he spoke, he paused slightly, then pointed to the manuscript in his hand, and said: "Look at what he said in this article, 'Emperor Su (the name of Sejong Temple) gave Gu a life based on a jade table, and everyone in the world heard about it, and anyone who comments on it is a crime. As for the alchemist, who slandered the late emperor and shied away from his own responsibilities, the public resisted and differentiated. The righteousness between king and minister, father and son, is as clear as the sun and the moon.' - This is from your standpoint, slapping him in the mouth! Three Uncle, you know Mr. Zhang Ge best, in your opinion, he is a person who can swallow his anger?"
"Of course he is not." Gao Gong fully understood what Gao Pragmatic meant and sighed: "You are right. It seems that when I rebelled against the imperial edict, he was already resentful towards me... Thinking about it now, I'm a little surprised that he was able to tolerate me for so long given his personality."
Unexpectedly, Gao Pangshi shook his head at this time and said: "My nephew thinks that this is not due to personality, but to the overall situation. The third uncle has the emperor's undivided support, Zhang Ge Lao said that he has no chance of winning, naturally he will not act rashly, he would rather take charge of himself A slap in the face will not lead to death."
"What about now?" Gao Gong showed a sneer, picked up a memorial from the side, and said: "How can people like Liu Fenyong dare to criticize me like this if there is no one to instruct me?"
Liu Fenyong was a Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing reign, and was also born in Yudi. In his early years, he was appointed as the head of the Ministry of War, and soon he was appointed to the Ministry of Rites. He also served as Imperial Imperial Examiner, served in Mu Zongyu's residence, and was promoted to Yuanwai Lang. When Long Qing came to the throne, he was promoted to Shang Baoqing because of Yu Di's old favor. Since then, the old ministers of the feudal palace have been granted power and important positions one after another, but Liu Fenyong has not been promoted for a long time.
Liu Fenyong did not get much promotion. Firstly, his ability was average, and the emperor was not impressed by him. Secondly, his qualifications were too junior. Even Zhang Juzheng was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, but he was only a Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing. , he was late in four subjects, and he was simply a junior among juniors, so it was actually very common for him not to get promoted.
But Liu Fenyong himself was very dissatisfied, especially when Gao Gong took charge and did not promote him, which made him even more dissatisfied.
Gao Jingshi estimated that the reason why Zhang Juzheng spent three or four days to persuade Liu Fenyong to come forward to find fault with Gao Gong was because Liu Fenyong was considered a good guy, but he was a little afraid of Gao Gong.
He was dissatisfied with Gao Gong, so he called him a cracked egg; he was a little afraid, so it took Zhang Juzheng a few days to convince him. What's more, in the end, Liu Fenyong did not dare to name him - although this was meaningless, anyone with a discerning eye knew that the person he was referring to in his essay was Gao Gong.
Gao Pinggong said sincerely: It seems that it is really useless to be so timid despite being so small and broad.
However, Gao Wuzhi was too lazy to comment on Liu Fenyong now. When faced with Gao Gong's question, Gao Wuzhi just replied: "Now, Mr. Zhang Ge probably feels that the emperor's dragon body is not in good condition. I am afraid that things will change soon, so he plans to first Start a trend.”
He saw Gao Gong's body trembled slightly when he heard "I'm afraid something unbearable will change soon", and he couldn't help but pause a little, and then continued: "He is betting that the emperor has no energy to take care of these things now, and San Bo He was worried that the emperor... was not afraid of something, and he did not dare to make too many counterattacks at this time. In this way, he could gradually change his position, take off the hat of 'high party ally' on his head, and turn to stand on the third level. The opposite of the third uncle unites those who are dissatisfied with the third uncle to form a group that can compete with the third uncle."
A bright light flashed in Gao Gong's eyes, and he asked solemnly: "I don't dare to counterattack?"
Gao pragmatically smiled: "Of course you dare, but my nephew still insists on his opinion that night: yes, but it's not necessary."
"Why?" Gao Gong stared at him: "You also said that the emperor's dragon body is not in good condition and he may not have the energy to take care of it. And I, haha, can deal with Liu Fenyong and his like with just one word."
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "It's just Liu Fenyong. How can you kill a chicken with a sledgehammer? How can Liu Fenyong succeed if he criticizes Sang and Huai without even daring to openly call for war? So my nephew thinks that Mr. Zhang Ge's method is definitely not that simple. ——We'd better wait a little longer, it's best... to lure the snake out of its hole."
