This evening's "Shang Shu Gaofu" was indeed full of distinguished guests and many distinguished friends - truly "distinguished guests", all of them were nobles, and everyone lived with the country. How could this not be "high"?
Gao Pragmatic took a look at the flower hall and saw that there were nearly twenty nobles, from the Duke to the Marquis, from the Marquis to the Uncle. All the Jingnan nobles who were in Beijing today, I'm afraid not all of them were here. Even Xu Wenbi, Duke of Dingguo, who was rarely seen except for Dachao standing at the head of the class, came in person.
Xu Wenbi was the "chief minister" of the military generals during the Great Dynasty, and his status was aloof from the rest - standing face to face with him was Shen Shixing, the chief minister.
The Duke's health had never been very good, but one thing was magical. People who were often sick sometimes lived longer. Gao Pragmatic remembered that in history, he seemed to have lived until thirty years after Wanli.
Because of his illness, Xu Wenbi rarely showed up outside the court. In the past, he would send his eldest grandson Xu Xigao to come forward when discussing matters with Gao Pragmatic (his eldest son died before him), but today was different, he came in person.
Xu Wenbi has come in person, which naturally means that the matter to be discussed today is "big" and senior senior officials from the Jingnan Department must come forward to take charge.
As soon as Gao Jingshi entered the flower hall, he smiled and bowed in all directions: "I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. Thank you for your gratitude."
There is no doubt that the status of Ming Dynasty's nobles is noble, but that was in normal times. At this moment, in front of Gao Pragmatic, the actual leader of the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance, the nobles are just small shareholders meeting the chairman. How can they dare to accept this gift?
Everyone, including Xu Wenbi, stood up with a smile and bowed their hands to Gao Pragmatic in return.
Since Xu Wenbi was the leader of the class, he naturally had to be the first to speak. I saw him laughing and saying as loudly as possible: "As a new farmer, I am naturally busy with official duties and cannot have a moment of leisure. But we are just rich and idle people. Even if we sit here for a day, it is not a big deal. Si Nong doesn’t have to be like this.”
Hey, you are very self-aware. I know that although I am the leader of the class, in the final analysis, I am really just a "rich and idle person".
Of course, it was okay for Xu Wenbi to be modest about this, but of course he could not be pragmatic in terms of power. He immediately "refuted" a few words, and then said: "Everyone is here today..."
"Of course it's for the Chief Secretary Nong's new appointment." Xu Wenbi continued: "One is to personally come to congratulate the Chief Secretary Nong on his new appointment, and the other is to ask for advice after the Rongzheng Minister's vacancy. A surefire solution.”
Gao pragmatic glanced at the Chengguo Duke Zhu Yingzhen, the British Duke Zhang Yuangong and others beside him, and suddenly smiled: "What's the hidden worry?"
Zhu Yingzhen and Zhang Yuangong were two generations younger than Xu Wenbi. Hearing this, they just looked at Xu Wenbi. Xu Wenbi smiled slightly: "Seeing how relaxed Da Sinong is, I must have enough confidence in the recommendation of Rongzheng Minister for the emperor to accept it?"
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "Rewards are simple and simple, and they have their own sacred heart to make arbitrary decisions. How can I, the ministers of my generation, control them? However, I think the general trend of the world is like the waves of a river, with its own context. The emperor is a wise man, and naturally he will not do that. A move against the current.
The regulations in the Beijing camp have been tightened since before, and now everything is in a good state. The emperor is aware of everything and naturally approves it. How can he be easily shaken? If you are worried about this, I think there is no need for it. "
Xu Wenbi smiled, as if he was not surprised by this answer, but he added: "Even if the system does not change, the Beijing camp will still be divided into two parts, but many things in the Production and Construction Corps were originally coordinated by Da Si Nong. This Only in this way can we not be disturbed by the outside world. Nowadays, it is natural for the world to be happy for the great agricultural officer to be promoted, but for the Construction Corps, it is like losing an umbrella in a heavy rain and having no clothes for the winter.
For example, if the mausoleum work is in short supply now, and the Ministry of Industry wants to mobilize the military corps to assist, but it cannot come up with the money needed to activate the corps, this matter would have been fine when Da Si Nong was still serving as Minister of Rongzheng, but now it is not possible. It's hard to say. "
Gao Pingshi frowned slightly and asked, "What rumors have you heard?"
"I'm afraid it's not a rumor." Xu Wenbi's eyebrows twitched slightly, he stared at Gao Pragmatic, and said slowly: "Although my father-in-law doesn't have much dealings with Shi Dongquan, I know that he is a person who attaches great importance to saving money and food. .
Last month, the Production and Construction Corps provided a sum of gunpowder to the Beijing camp on the order of Da Sinong (referring to Gao Pragmatic), totaling 57,000 taels of silver. This matter was ordered by Da Sinong before the expedition. Da Si Nong Nong should still remember it, right? "
Gao Pragmatic nodded slightly: "Of course I remember. During the previous expedition, the Imperial Guards I led carried a large number of firearms, and the Imperial Guards' armaments warehouse was emptied a lot, so I ordered to make up for it - but I remember that this matter was completed Oh, what, what else is wrong with it?"
"Of course the thing is done, but there are some twists and turns." Xu Wenbi seemed a little uncomfortable after saying these words. He stretched out his hand behind him, and immediately a servant handed a pot of something unknown to his hand. .
Xu Wenbi took it, opened it, took a few sips and returned it to him. Gao pragmatic smelled some wine with a medicinal aroma, and couldn't help but be a little surprised, wondering what the hell is this? Could it be some kind of medicinal wine?
But Xu Wenbi did not explain. He just cleared his throat and continued: "For this matter, Shi Xing secretly reported to the emperor and persuaded the emperor to put restrictions on the financial expenditure of the Imperial Guard and the Production and Construction Corps."
Gao Pragmatic suddenly frowned: "Is the news true?"
Xu Wenbi spread his hands slightly and gestured to Zhu Yingzhen. Zhu Yingzhen immediately said: "This is the news from Jin Yiwei. It is definitely true."
Gao pragmatic nodded and said nothing for the time being.
Zhu Yingzhen said it was from Jin Yiwei. This must be true. His uncle and grandfather Zhu Xixiao was the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei back then. After Lu Bing's death, he worked for so many years and promoted countless people. However, since Liu Shouyou was overthrown, there is no commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei now, only commanders and other officials. , and the governors of the north and south were in office.
Among these people, in addition to Gao Wuben and Wang Zhizhen, who had high pragmatic arrangements, there were many people who were closely related to the Duke of Chengguo. For some things, it is simply a matter of course for him to inform Duke Cheng Guo a little bit - this is not the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Do you really expect the Jinyiwei to only listen to the emperor's greetings and not have any other backstage backers? That's so naive.
If it was related to treason or something, Jin Yiwei might not dare to leak it easily, but for some people in Jin Yiwei to leak things like what we are talking about today, there would be no psychological burden at all.
But the question is, was Shi Xing so full that he was too busy? Why did he secretly report this to the emperor?
Gao Pragmatic's consistent way of thinking is to consider "interests at stake" first. For example, if Shi Xing does secretly report something, then this matter must be related to his interests. He, a dignified minister of the Ministry of War, cannot possibly Engaging in "secret memorials" for no reason - secret memorials were not a common tactic in Ming Dynasty officialdom.
As civil servants and gentlemen, of course they always pay attention to being upright and upright in everything they do. Secret playing and such are activities that only Dongchang and Jinyiwei like.
After thinking for a while, Gao Pragmatic was still a little incomprehensible, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. When Xu Wenbi saw that the fire was almost done, he smiled slightly and asked, "Does Da Sinong think this matter is weird, and thinks it doesn't make sense no matter how much you think about it?"
Gao Pingshi was startled by him from his thoughts and chuckled: "It's a little unusual."
Xu Wenbi twisted his beard and smiled and said: "If my father-in-law tells Da Sinong one more thing, Da Sinong will surely understand."
Gao pragmatic raised his eyebrows slightly, showing some interest: "Pragmatic is all ears."
Xu Wenbi said: "Before what happened just now, Shen Yuanfu once called the right person alone."
The word "call for right" is "exclusive", that is, the emperor asked him to ask for help. Calling the right person alone means that either the emperor took the initiative at that time, or Shen Shixing asked for it, so that the rest of the "miscellaneous people" left.
Gao Pragmatic has experienced this situation many times and is not unfamiliar at all. In short: there must be extremely important and confidential things to talk about.
But Xu Wenbi said that this matter was not unfounded. It definitely meant that the conversation that day was related to Shi Xing's secret report later. At least Xu Wenbi thought there must be a relationship.
Gao Pragmatic did not comment, but he quickly made calculations in his mind.
Shen Shixing and Shi Xing, are they hooking up now? In theory this doesn't seem to be the case.
Although Shi Xing is a neutral faction, since he can serve as the left minister of the Ministry of War, and his ranking at that time was before pragmatism, and he was the "executive deputy" of the Ministry of War, it means that he has been leaning towards the pragmatic school in the past few years. of. Not to mention that he is incompatible with the Heart School, at least he must have "drawn a clear line" most of the time. Otherwise, how could the Real School allow him to sit in this position?
In this case, Shen Shixing and Shi Xing really shouldn't collude easily - this is not something like young men and women falling in love at first sight without any reason. For important figures from two opposing factions to join forces, they not only need to have the same interests in something, but also need a certain amount of chance to connect them. Otherwise, they may not have private contact at ordinary times. Who will contact whom first at this time? Will the other party believe it?
Xu Wenbi was old and mature, and had been carefully observing Gao Pragmatic's expression. At this time, he spoke again: "Two days after this incident, the emperor asked Chen Factory Supervisor about Shi Dongquan. The question at that time was: 'I heard that Shi Xing had previously He once presided over the construction of new castles in Gubeikou and other places, which was quite effective. Chen Ju, do you know about this?'
Factory Governor Chen didn't know the reason at the time, so he replied: "Shi Dongquan is a mature man and has always been prudent in his work. It is said that he did a good job in building the new castle." The emperor nodded slightly after hearing this and said nothing else. "
A bright light flashed in Gao Pangshi's eyes, and he said in a serious voice: "It's a bit interesting... Does the old man mean that it was Shen Yuanfu who recommended Shi Dongquan as the Great Sikong?"
Xu Wenbi chuckled: "I'm so old and confused. How did I know this? What I just said is all hearsay and may not be taken seriously. However, the great master Nong Shen's clever plan is known to the whole world. I think as long as there is any clue, the great master can Farmers can follow the clues and follow the clues."
You old fox, for this reason, you want to pick yourself out? What's the matter, do you always plan to sit back and watch the fight between tigers and pretend to be an expert in this fight?
Gao Pragmatic chuckled: "Shi Dongquan is quite qualified for the position of Da Sikong. Although the student was a little surprised by the Sacred Heart's arbitrary decision before, he didn't go into it deeply. Now it seems that the old man is still aware of the subtle things, and suddenly I found the root cause, which really impressed the students.”
Xu Wenbi waved his hands repeatedly: "Hey, hey, please don't praise me, the great farmer. Don't you know how much I have? It's just relying on the shadow of my ancestors to recognize a few idlers in the palace. What does it matter? ?”
He paused for a moment and said, "However, there is something strange about this matter. I am a confused person and can't figure it out. I can only hope that Da Sinong will think better of it."
Gao pragmatically said a few polite words and thought to himself: Of course there is something strange about this matter. The key lies in how Shen Shixing and Shi Xing hooked up. If the two of them had not had any "relationship" before, Shen Shixing's move would have been a bit thrilling. It was equivalent to a bet - the bet was whether Shi Xing would remember his kindness.
For politicians, especially such top politicians, this move is too dangerous. This danger does not mean that Shen Shixing will suffer as a result, but that once Shi Xing fails to remember his kindness, Shen Shixing will not only do his work in vain, but it will also be difficult to explain to the Xin School.
This is just like when Xu Jie recommended Gao Gong to the pavilion. Xu Jie thought that Gao Gong would remember his kindness, but he didn't know that Gao Gong was Long Qing's closest imperial master. After the new emperor Yuji, it was natural for Gao Gong to join the pavilion. It doesn't matter whether Xu Jie recommends it or not.
In this way, he naturally would not regard this recommendation as a favor. Instead, he thought that Xu Jie was opportunistic and used such small means to favor others and build momentum for himself, and he looked down upon Xu Jie very much.
The same is true for Shen Shixing's move now. If Shi Xing's idea was similar to Gao Gong's at that time, then Shen Shixing's move was purely to "give away people" to the Real School - to hook up with the Ministry of Works, it was simply to give himself. make enemies.
Judging from Gao Pragmatic's understanding of Shen Shixing, he is unlikely to engage in such dangerous actions. If he did, it would mean that he and Shi Xing had reached a consensus, or at least some kind of tacit understanding.
Since it is inconvenient for them to contact each other directly, there must be an intermediary, and this intermediary is the key to this matter.
If this is indeed the case, then the Practical School has fallen into the trap to some extent this time: the Practical School has always believed that Shi Xing is obviously leaning towards their side, so for the "Sacred Heart Dictatorship", Shi Xing was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Industry. It was very welcome, and everyone raised their hands in approval of this incident.
And if Shi Xing has a collusion with Shen Shixing, it is conceivable that he will "cause trouble" for the Real School after he takes office.
The reason why Xu Wenbi came to see him with so many nobles, and even risked obvious physical discomfort to talk to him about the matter in person, was probably to remind himself to be careful. After all, he had a distinguished status and a special status.
As for why, it's very simple: Shi Xing's biggest job after becoming Minister of the Ministry of Industry was mausoleum work. The importance of this matter does not need to be explained, and even Gao Pragmatic did not dare to delay it. Therefore, once Shi Xing used the excuse that the mausoleum construction period was too tight and could not be completed normally with the current construction intensity, he had to ask the Production and Construction Corps to help, but the Ministry of Works had no money left, then... what should we do?
The emperor might have "made an exception" and asked the Production and Construction Corps to do this favor in vain, and as a result, he inadvertently broke the rules set by Gao pragmatism.
This matter does not seem to be a big problem, as if it is just a "special case". However, a thousand-mile dike breaks in an ant nest. If there is one, there will be two, and if there are two, there will be three. This time we can make an exception, why not next time?
In this way, the highly pragmatic Beijing-based reform was shaken from its foundation.
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