Gao Jingshi's every move in the capital attracted much attention. The news of his "rush to" the Yuanfu Mansion was naturally quickly learned by various forces in the capital. Everyone was trying to figure out the story behind this move, but they just let it go. No matter what they think, they really can't understand it.
Not only have these uncles and nephews been very close, but their political stances are almost exactly the same. Therefore, it is impossible for Gao Pragmatic to go to his uncle out of anger. Then... logically speaking, there is only one possibility, and that is They were in trouble.
But what trouble could happen now?
The Mongols were defeated last year and will not be able to regain their strength for a while. If Gao pragmatism does not look for their bad luck, they will have to burn high incense. There is absolutely no possibility of large-scale border violations. If we talk about small-scale border violations... Li Chengliang is not a pig, but he is also a rare tiger general. Can't he settle a small matter?
It doesn't look like there will be any more trouble in southern Xinjiang. The morale of the Ming army is now at its peak. Even if the demons and ghosts in southern Xinjiang are unwilling to do so, they should at least wait until the army retreats before causing trouble again. Isn't making trouble now just a gift?
This is really strange.
However, they soon received new news: less than half an hour after Gao Pingshi entered Zhang University's scholar's residence, he was escorted out by two brothers, Zhang Jiazheng and Zhang Taizheng. What dispute.
Gao Pingshi didn't stay at the gate of Zhang's Mansion for long. He left the capital all the way as usual and went back to the White Jade Tower of Xinzhai.
Baiyu Tower was heavily guarded. Gao Jingshi returned to Baiyu Tower, and the news was considered broken. However, no one noticed that there were fewer people in Gao Jingshi's accompanying honor guard before leaving the city.
After Chen Ju went to court, he went to Neidong Factory. Like others, he soon heard about Gao Pingshi breaking into Yuan Fu Mansion. He also thought it was very strange. He originally wanted to send someone to inquire about the news, but After thinking for a while, he gave up and went to the Waidong Factory in person.
As expected, it didn't take long for someone to come to see him with Gao Gongbao's name card, saying that he had something important to report. Chen Ju called the person in, and was about to ask the person's intention, when the man wearing a brown shorts from the Gao family's denim handed it over directly. A letter said: "The Governor doesn't need to ask any more questions. My master said everything is in the letter. Please take a look at it."
Chen Ju did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly went to receive the letter in person. He found that the letter was actually painted with fire paint, and judging from the pattern, the fire paint coat of arms was not the "book and sword" that Gao pragmatically used, but The gold leopard print of the Zhang family in Puzhou.
Chen Ju immediately understood that this was the seal written by Gao Jing in the Zhang family. There was no seal of his "Book and Sword" there, so he could only make do with the Zhang family's golden leopard.
This means that the situation is very urgent, and Gao Pragmatic has to pass the news to himself before he even has time to return home.
He quickly and carefully opened the paint and took out the letter to read.
"Brother Linggang: I received an urgent report from Puzhou. It is said that my grandfather is seriously ill and the doctors are at a loss. I am afraid that a big change is coming, so I have asked the Yuan Fu to discuss the addition of cabinet ministers as soon as possible...Brother, please state the reason before your Majesty. Don't say more. Thank you very much for delaying. My sincere thanks for being pragmatic."
Chen Ju was very familiar with Gao Jingshi's handwriting. This letter must have been written by him, but he had never seen Gao Jingshi write in such a sloppy way. From the writing point of view, this letter is also extremely straightforward, as if it were spoken face to face, and it is not the usual high pragmatic style.
As for the content of the letter, Chen Ju took a deep breath. Without saying anything, he turned on the light and burned the letter to ashes.
"Go back to Gao Gongbao quickly and tell him that Chen Ju knows how powerful he is and will go back to the palace to make arrangements. Please rest assured."
The servant thanked him, said goodbye, and turned to leave.
Chen Ju hurried out of the central hall and shouted: "Hurry and prepare the sedan, prepare the sedan, and go back to the palace!"
Although Admiral Dongchang's green sedan was impressive, it couldn't get up quickly, so it was natural to switch to a smaller sedan to avoid delays.
Gao Pangshi didn't rest after returning to Baiyulou. He immediately ordered someone to arrange an ordinary carriage. He changed into a sky-blue horse carriage, took only one coachman and two followers, and quietly hurried back to the capital in a light carriage.
He went directly back to Zhaohui Jinggongfang's No. 1 Scholar. As soon as he entered, a servant told him that Zhang Xinzhai and Wu Huanzhou had been there for a while and were drinking tea in the flower hall. Gao Pragmatic hurried to the flower hall without saying anything.
"Mr. Shinzhai, the students are late. Senior Brother Wu is here too?"
Gao Jingshi entered the flower hall directly. Zhang Xueyan and Wu Dui were both a little surprised, but thinking about the situation in the afternoon, they didn't care about this rudeness and stood up at the same time.
Zhang Xueyan said with concern: "I'm sorry, you're so anxious to find me and me, and you came so secretly, but what happened?"
Wu Dui, who was admitted to the Jinbang School late in the exam and studied Yan, was a junior, so he didn't rush to talk, but just nodded, with the same concern on his face.
"Well, there is indeed something... or there may be something." Gao Pingshi asked the two of them to sit down and said: "Both of you are outsiders, so if you have anything to say, please just say it. The student's grandfather - that is, Yuan Fu's father - - Critically ill."
This news was like a bolt from the blue. Zhang Xueyan and Wu Dui were stunned for a moment, and neither of them responded immediately.
Zhang Xueyan and Zhang Siwei happened to be in the same department of the same year, so they reacted quickly. His expression immediately changed and he asked, "Have you invited a famous doctor to see you?"
This is nonsense said in a hurry. What is the net worth of Mrs. Zhang in Puzhou? Why should I ask about hiring a famous doctor? So Gao Pragmatic just smiled and nodded.
Zhang Xueyan himself immediately realized that these words were a bit panicky, and immediately asked: "What does Yuan Fu mean?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Yuan Fu has decided to meet with Emperor Shu early tomorrow morning to recruit additional cabinet ministers." Then he added: "The students have also informed the Second Master of Ceremonies about the news and asked them to report to the Emperor. This time The matter of adding cabinet ministers will not be delayed."
Why emphasize this "no delay"? Because generally speaking, when the chief minister proposes to add cabinet ministers, the emperor will usually "not agree" at first - as soon as your chief minister said that you should add ministers, I agreed. Doesn't that mean that I think your cabinet has done a great job? Oops, I also hope that some people can come in to help right away?
So Gao Jingshi specially asked Chen Ju to go to Huang Mengyu, and the two of them went to the emperor to show their strength.
The implication is that Your Majesty, please don't handle it as usual. If you do some Tai Chi on this matter, maybe Mr. Zhang will ascend to heaven before the "process" has been "completed" - and that Zhang Siwei will have to resign immediately. , and directly closed the door to thank guests, packed his bags and prepared to go home. Ding Yousuo, this matter of adding cabinet ministers may be ruined.
As for what it means to be "destroyed", of course it means that it was not added according to Zhang Siwei's original intention. For example, the person who was added in the end was not chosen by Zhang Siwei.
This is usually unlikely, but there are occasional exceptions, because generally speaking, although Zhang Siwei has the right to recommend before leaving, he cannot just write the name of the person or people he really wants to recommend, but also I have to write a few more to avoid being criticized by the outside world. And in this way, if the emperor didn't understand his true intention and happened to choose a "display", it would be a bad thing.
However, after Gao Pragmatic said this, Zhang Xueyan and Wu Dui became nervous at the same time.
Of course, Gao Pragmatic couldn't have asked the two of them to come here for a chat. Calling them here at this moment must be about a major matter related to the recruitment of cabinet ministers. The only problem is that there are currently five cabinet ministers in the cabinet, namely the first assistant Zhang Siwei, the second assistant Shen Shixing, and the following group assistants are Yu Youding, Xu Guo, and Pan Sheng.
Even if Zhang Siwei and Ding You leave, there will still be four cabinet ministers left. Generally speaking, just adding one more cabinet minister is enough.
Who's on?
Even if everyone is an important minister in the court of the Practical School, they cannot be completely calm at this time - this is to become a cabinet minister, who wouldn't want to? Who can give it to others in a cool way?
The two of them had even begun to guess that Gao Pragmatic invited them here, maybe to appease the other "lost" minister while announcing the results.
The hope in Wu Dui's eyes flickered for a moment, and soon dimmed. He felt that he might have no hope this time - Zhang Xueyan was on the gold medal list two subjects earlier than him, and was more senior. At the same time, Zhang Xueyan is the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, and it is usually easier to join the cabinet than the Minister of the Ministry of War.
But Gao pragmatic took a deep breath and said: "Yuan Fu means to recommend the two of them to join the cabinet at the same time to assist the government."
Zhang Xueyan and Wu Dui were both stunned.
at the same time?
Is the cabinet going to appoint seven ministers at once?
Zhang Xueyan also knew that he was the one who had more hope of joining the cabinet, so he didn't feel comfortable opening his mouth. Wu Dui then took the initiative and said, "Aren't the seven pavilion elders a little... rare?"
Gao pragmatically said: "There was an old story about seven assistant ministers in the cabinet during the Tianshun period. Although it is rare, it is not bad. Besides, Yuan Fu may be Ding You at any time, and Mr. Yu Ge..."
Yu Ge has been ill for so long that he can't even get out of bed now. It's not surprising that he will go to Hexi anytime. What's the big deal if he makes arrangements early?
Besides, even if he is not dead, he has not been "on duty" for several months now. The cabinet can't keep doing this, right? The bosses don’t get overtime pay!
When Gao Pragmatic said this, Zhang Xueyan and Wu Dui also reacted and looked at each other, both of them were very satisfied.
However, Zhang Xueyan immediately asked: "If this is the case, who will take over the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
Wu Dui happened to ask: "Who will the Ministry of War be entrusted to?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Yuan Fu's current intention is to hand over the Ministry of Household Affairs to Shen Zhonghua (Shen Li) and the Ministry of War to Liang Ganji (Liang Menglong). What do you think?"
Wu Dui first said: "Liang Menglong... I think it's okay."
Of course there is no problem with Liang Menglong's ability. The only problem is his teacher, and his teacher is Zhang Juzheng. However, after Zhang Juzheng's fall, he never complained. He even wrote to his disciples many times, asking them to serve as officials well and not to think about dragging down the party. Therefore, after observing for a period of time, Gao Gong re-employed Liang Menglong.
After that, Gao Gong died, Guo Pu assisted in the government, and then Gao Jingshi became an official to regain Annan. Liang Menglong continued to work steadily, and then formed an alliance with Gao Jingshi, who was in Liaodong. Now he can be regarded as a member of the practical school.
Zhang Xueyan hesitated for a moment and said: "Shen Zhonghua's knowledge is certainly good, but he has been working in the Hanlin Academy and the Zhanshi Mansion. He has neither been sent to other places nor been a court official. He suddenly became the chief minister... Will it be difficult to adapt?”
Difficult to adapt is obviously a polite way of saying it. Zhang Xueyan’s meaning is actually very clear: Shen Li has been working as an academician in the Hanlin Academy and has never actually handled general affairs. Now, in the process of reform, he is suddenly asked to do the most chores. Can he do the job of being the most detailed and troublesome Minister of the Ministry of Finance?
Gao pragmatic sighed and said: "Mr. Xinzhai is worried, and Yuan Fu actually has the same concern, but if Shen Zhonghua is not used, there is no more suitable candidate at the moment."
Zhang Xueyan was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it carefully, it was really like this. Even if the qualifications of other outsiders are similar to Shen Li, their current job levels are still a bit lower. If they join the center, they will at most be assigned to serve as a minister.
And if you don't choose among the foreign officials, there is no one more suitable than Shen Li among the Hanlin academic officials. Including Chen Jingbang, although they are the same age as Shen Li, they are younger than Shen Li, and they also have no experience in handling general affairs. It is better to choose him than Shen Li.
This is embarrassing, and it really responds to the worries of the past, and it feels a bit like being idle.
Zhang Xueyan thought for a long time, and as expected, there was no better candidate, and he couldn't help but was speechless.
None of the three people considered recommending anyone outside the Real School to be the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, because everyone knew that the Ministry of Household Affairs was different from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Punishments, and even the Ministry of Works. It was directly related to the success or failure of the reform and must be controlled by oneself. Only in human hands.
Are the parties united and opposed? Maybe, but reform is absolutely impossible without real power and financial power, not to mention that almost any current reform is inseparable from the support of the Ministry of Accounts.
Although Shen Li may not be the most suitable candidate for the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance in terms of ability, at least there is no problem in terms of loyalty. He is not only a student of Gao Gong, but also a native of Yucheng, Henan. It can be said that he does not even have a chance to jump to the rebellion. .
Zhang Xueyan had nothing to say, so he had to ask: "Since Yuan Fu has decided, the official will naturally agree, but I don't know what Mr. Xu Ge said? Also, Mr. Pan Ge is willing to support us this time?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Mr. Xu Ge should be at Yuan Fu's house at this time, and Yuan Fu must be able to reach an agreement with him. As for the youngest Pan Ge... the students have already sent someone to contact him, so there must be no big problem."
Pan Sheng, this person was able to join the cabinet because of the help of the Practical School. In addition, he has a kind personality and generally will not refuse the high pragmatism that "favours him". In addition... Gao Pingshi also sent a message, allowing him to exchange the Yunnan War treasure banknotes in his hands at the original price - this old man quietly bought 40,000 taels of Yunnan War treasure banknotes last time.
Following Gao Pragmatic's words, he made thousands of taels in vain from this alone, and all he had to pay was to express his support for Yuan Fu's recommendation. It was simply money falling from the sky, why not take it?
After some discussion, both Zhang Xueyan and Wu Dui thought there was no problem, so they said goodbye to Gao Pragmatic, put on their bamboo hats, and left quietly through the back door.
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