The call to the Wenhua Hall in July of the sixth year of Longqing must be a major event worthy of being recorded in the history books. Because it not only represents the downfall of a chief minister and a cabinet minister, but also indicates the emergence of a new power system.
From the perspective of the outer court, it seems that there is only one missing auxiliary minister who ranks at the bottom, but there are both auxiliary and secondary auxiliaries, especially because Gao Gong himself is an energetic workaholic, so the court affairs can still be carried out in an orderly manner. operation will not be seriously affected.
But from the perspective of the inner court, the situation is very different, which is worth mentioning.
First, the apparent power system of the inner court changed again. It can be seen from the candidates announced that after Feng Bao suddenly fell, Chen Hong, as the Chief of Ceremonies, Bingbi, successively took over the post of Chief of Ceremonies, Huang Mengyu. Admiral Dongchang was finally "normal" and became Xi Bingbi. Zhang Hong, who did not appear at the meeting, was actually not in trouble. The reason why he did not appear was because he was sent to raid Feng Bao's home. He also followed Xu Xu rose one rank, and took over the inner court yamen such as the Queen's Supervisor. Chen Ju's status seemed to have not changed, but he just moved up a rank. However, it can be seen from the fact that he stood next to the emperor that he became the new "big companion".
The above are only changes on the surface. Internal changes also include Huang Mengyu clearly standing by Empress Chen's side, which means that he appears as Empress Chen's representative in the inner court. In other words, Empress Chen abandoned the original history of being content with being "transparent". The intention of "people" began to truly come to the stage in accordance with Gao Gong's statement of "two palaces respecting each other" and influence the government affairs as the "mother queen"!
Concubine Li, who had lost her loyal confidant Feng Bao, not only lost a lot of face in this incident, but also had no one available for the time being, so she had to take Chen Hong under her command. However, because Chen Hong became the chief minister of etiquette, she therefore Concubine Li's influence on government affairs is still not much inferior.
The biggest "benefit" the little emperor Zhu Yijun got was to cut off the eyes of his mother and concubine beside him. Although he still had no say in government affairs, at least he could live a less depressed life.
Gao Pragmatic is very concerned about this, because Gao Pragmatic has always believed that the reason why Emperor Wanli in history seemed to have Otaku Autism in the later period, and he would rather die than meet the courtiers, except for the reasons that everyone knows In addition, it is very likely that the mental depression he suffered before taking office led to psychological distortion.
Although Wanli managed political affairs well even when he did not go to court, and achieved complete victory in Wanli's three major campaigns, the serious opposition and mutual internal friction between the monarch and his ministers still greatly depleted the vitality of the Ming Dynasty and accumulated grievances from all aspects. Would things have been better if Wanli hadn't had the psychological shadow of his childhood?
No one can guarantee it, not even Gao Pragmatic, but he thinks it's at least worth a try.
The above are considered "internal", but there are actually more "internal" ones, or in other words, the most deeply hidden changes.
That is high pragmatic influence.
No matter what mentality Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju had when they boarded Gao Pragmatic's pirate ship, at least after this incident, the two of them were completely impressed by Gao Pragmatic's methods, and they knew more that others did not. Know the inside story.
For example, Queen Chen seems to be fair, but in fact, everything is done according to highly pragmatic guidelines. It may be disrespectful to call her a puppet on strings, but I'm afraid that is the case.
Another example is the young emperor Zhu Yijun. In his eyes, the person closest to him is neither his mother nor his concubine, nor his first companion Feng Bao or his new first companion Chen Ju, but his companion Gao Pragmatic!
The influence of high pragmatism on Zhu Yijun is almost all-round!
But it’s strange when you think about it. Zhu Yijun and Gao Pragmatic are the same age, and they spend time together, discussing history and observing politics. Apart from the little eunuchs around him, the only people Zhu Yijun sees the most in his life is Gao Pragmatic, and Xiao The eunuchs were just his domestic slaves, how could they have anything in common with him?
The only person who can share a common language with him is Gao Pragmatism! In other words, in Zhu Yijun's heart, Gao Pragmatic is not only his reading companion, but also his classmate and friend! Zhu Yijun not only stayed with him, discussed history and observed politics, but also often relied on Gao Pragmatic to protect him in front of Concubine Li Gui. What was the nature of this? This is a comrade-in-arms, no different from carrying a gun together!
We've been together in the same window, we've carried guns together, we've just forgotten the rest, it's probably out of the question.
In short, even if Huang Mengyu and Chen Ju were eunuchs, they would not dare to compare their status in the eyes of the little emperor with Gao Pragmatic.
Therefore, Gao Wuzhen's influence in the inner court can almost be said to have reached its peak. If Concubine Li had not captured Chen Hong, Gao Wuzhen could even be said to be equivalent to the "inner minister"!
Of course, only those who are involved in these situations will know. People who have not entered the circle of the inner court have no way of knowing. Just like when the civil servants of the outer court learned that Zhang Juzheng was involved in the Feng Bao case and was exonerated, they all The focus was on the matter of "Gu Mingfu Chen was dismissed", rather than on the deeper changes in the inner court.
Although everyone was shocked, some people still stood up and spoke for Zhang Juzheng.
The one on the list was Ge Shouli, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and a hard-core high-ranking party. Since he was a hard-core high-ranking party, he was certainly not trying to save Zhang Juzheng, but for the "national system."
He stepped out solemnly, bowed with his hands in hand, and said loudly, "I have a memorial from Ge Shouli, the imperial censor of Zuodu."
Although Zhu Yijun has participated in a few grand ceremonies, he has always been a puppet, acting and speaking according to the arrangements of the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites. In fact, he has never formally answered the questions to the ministers!
So after Ge Shouli, who looked like an upright and thin old man, stood up and said this, Zhu Yijun was a little panicked. He didn't know what to say for a moment, so he had to subconsciously glance at the two palaces.
But how could the two palaces reply? In fact, the presence of the two palaces here today is a bit out of line!
You must know that their most accurate identity now is that they are the widows of the Daxing Emperor who have not even taken off their mourning robes, which means they are not the queen mother or concubine yet!
Theoretically, they are not allowed to meet with officials from outside the court now. Zhu Yijun doesn’t know, but they know! They came here today just to "sit down" here to prevent the emperor from making too much noise and being frightened by the ministers.
But that's it. They can't answer the questions for the emperor. Before they take the title of Queen Mother, they can't speak on behalf of the emperor.
"Your Majesty, just let him speak."
At the critical moment, Gao Pragmatic, who was still standing beside the emperor, quietly reminded him.
Zhu Yijun seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and hurriedly said, "You say it."
Ge Shouli was not polite and said loudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I would like to ask first, is the evidence found by Dongchang and Jinyiwei sufficient to confirm that Assistant Minister Zhang Juzheng is involved in the case?"
Zhu Yijun glanced to the side, Gao pragmatically nodded slightly, Zhu Yijun immediately said loudly, "That's natural!"
Ge Shouli seemed to have guessed this answer, and added, "Zhang Juzheng is an old minister of the late emperor, and now he is an assistant minister. He has been deeply favored by three generations of emperors, and he should be loyal to him. As a colleague, I am deeply saddened that he is involved in this case. However, Since Zhang Juzheng is a minister of Gu Ming, and his case involves bribery, he should be investigated and interrogated by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Criminal Justice. Now, I think it is inappropriate to deal with it suddenly without being judged by the judicial department."
Zhu Yijun glanced at the two palaces first, and saw that the two palaces had deep frowns, especially his mother-in-law, who had a hidden scowl. He was so frightened that he quickly took his eyes back and looked at Gao Yingshi next to him.
Gao Pingshi's face was expressionless, and his lips moved slightly, "I will make my own decision if I insult the Heavenly Family, and there is no need for legal intervention."
Zhu Yijun breathed a sigh of relief and said loudly, "The General Constitution doesn't know anything. That Zhang Juzheng has insulted the Tian family. I have settled this matter on my own, and there is no need for the judicial department to intervene!"
Ge Shouli was dumbfounded after hearing this, and subconsciously raised his head to glance at the emperor, secretly wondering in his mind that His Majesty could be so precocious and wise?
But no matter how young the emperor is, he is still an emperor. He has said that he will "end his own life." No objection.”
