The fact that Yu Shenxing was "elected" as Minister of Household Affairs is a pretty good result from a highly pragmatic standpoint. The first point is of course good because of the relationship between Yu Shenxing and him back then. In addition, Yu Shenxing was one of the Japanese officials when Gao Pragmatic was the prince's accompaniment. Taking the two into account, Gao Pragmatic is not included. He is a disciple of Yu Shenxing, but there is no problem in calling him "sir".
With such a relationship, even if Yu Shenxing disagrees with Gao Pragmatic's opinions at certain times, at least it is unlikely that he will speak harshly to each other. At least it will not be a big problem for the two parties to maintain a semblance of harmony.
The second good point is that although Yu Shenxing is very "moral", he also pays more attention to reality. He is a person who can adhere to higher ethics, but he will not completely ignore the actual situation for the sake of morality. This kind of person People who are highly pragmatic seem to be easier to deal with.
The third point, which is true but a bit weak to say, is that Yu Shenxing's health is not very good. Yu Shenxing's qualifications are quite old now, and his official reputation has always been very good. It stands to reason that he should have risen to the top a long time ago. Why is he being elected as the Minister of Rites just now? Because he resigned due to illness a few years ago, he went back to recuperate for a few years and then was reinstated, which delayed his "progress."
Poor health means that his ability to control the Ministry of Rites will not be too strong, and there is a high probability that it will give the two ministers more space. In this case, Gao Pragmatic will have the opportunity and motivation to fill people in the Ministry of Rites - even Gao Gao. Think pragmatically.
It is a coincidence that the former right minister of the Ministry of Rites has just been appointed Ding You, and now the position is vacant. However, this matter has not been finalized for the time being because the emperor was busy paying attention to the war. It is now the autumn period, and the right minister of the Ministry of Rites cannot be lacking forever. Therefore, after he joins the cabinet and the minister of the Ministry of Rites is replaced, the selection of the right minister of the Ministry of Rites will inevitably become the next topic. This is obviously an opportunity.
Gao Pragmatic's candidate is Xiao Liangyou, who ranked second in the Gengchen Division of the same year. Xiao Liangyou was a very knowledgeable person. The highly pragmatic "famous work" "Long Wen Whip Shadow" was actually his masterpiece in the original history - of course, it was his masterpiece after serving as an academic official for many years.
Well, even to make up for this, Gao Pragmatic had to recommend him to be the young uncle.
Xiao Liangyou is currently also one of the ministerial bachelors of the Hanlin Academy. According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, there are four ministers and ministers, all of whom are serious "prime ministers". As long as they can be externalized, it is safe to have a minister. Of course, although Xiao Liangyou is not in charge of the academy, his qualifications are obviously older than that of Ye Xianggao, who is in charge of the academy.
Ye Xianggao was able to take charge of the affairs of the academy, firstly because he was smart in handling affairs and had everything in order; secondly and most importantly, because he was a highly pragmatic disciple, which made him especially favored by the emperor. In terms of real qualifications, Xiao Liangyou is one class ahead of Ye Xianggao, and one class before his mentor Gao Xiangpang. This is called a senior, so when Ye Xianggao sees Xiao Liangyou, he will definitely be the first to salute.
In addition to Xiao Liangyou, Tanhua Wang Tingzhuan, who is in the same department as Gao Jingshi, is also one of the people he wants to recommend. As for Wang Tingzhuan's recommendation, Gao Jingshi takes a fancy to his ability to coordinate and plans to use it when he has the opportunity. He was recommended to the Ministry of Industry to prepare for the construction of a series of basic projects in the future.
As for the three disciples, Gao's pragmatic attitude is to depend on the situation. To be precise, he should wait for the opportunity and make specific arrangements when suitable vacancies become available. As for now, the main task of the three people is still to do their jobs well and take care of themselves.
But this is all a matter for later. The top priority is to write a resignation letter - not to resign and hold various positions, but because anyway, the imperial decree ordering him to join the cabinet is coming soon, and as a rule, he must decline first.
What's more, Gao Wuchen now not only refuses to join the cabinet, but also refuses the title of Marquis of Nanning. Although this is all stage work, the stage work of the Ming Dynasty cannot be done without doing it. Otherwise, how could Zhang Juzheng's affair of seizing love become such a big deal, with almost no way to end it?
Sure enough, as soon as he went to the study to write half a chapter of poetry, the emperor's imperial edict arrived. It is estimated that the Director of Ceremonies also knew that he would definitely resign, so the angel who came was just a young eunuch. Gao Qingshi didn't even know him, but he vaguely remembered seeing him.
There is no doubt that Gao Jingshi politely declined this request, but ordered Gao Mo to reward the young eunuch with a red envelope of twenty taels of silver. With his status, he naturally wouldn't care too much about this mere young prisoner. He turned around to leave, but he didn't expect that this angel turned out to be a stranger. He smiled and thanked: "They say that the Marquis is unparalleled in his generosity. Today, As soon as I saw him, he certainly lived up to his reputation.”
Gao pragmatic smiled slightly and simply replied: "I don't dare, trouble the angel." Then he was about to turn around, but the angel said again: "What a coincidence, our family and the Marquis are actually the same family..."
Gao Pragmatic stopped when he heard the words, looked at him slightly surprised, and said: "The angel also has the surname Gao?"
Seeing that Gao Pingshi was finally interested, the angel was overjoyed and hurriedly raised his hands and said: "Good Lord Marquis knows that our family's surname is Gao, and our nickname is Huai - Huaiyang means Huai."
Gaohuai?
Gao Jingshi felt bad, but his face remained calm, and he even showed a smile that seemed to be quite appreciative. He nodded and said: "Okay, I remember it, Angel, it's easy to go." Then he hit Gao Mo again. A look indicated another reward.
Gao Mo was naturally very good at these things, and he took out a red envelope containing twenty-two pieces of small-denomination Federal Reserve banknotes and handed it to Gao Huai, saying with a smile: "Since we are from the Marquis family, the reward should be double - just now I am disrespectful, I hope the angel can forgive me."
Gao Huai was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear, and said hurriedly: "Hey, hey, the old steward has ruined our family, how can I be embarrassed..." He said he was embarrassed, but there was no lag in collecting the money. As soon as he finished speaking, the wordless envelope was already tucked into his sleeve, leaving no trace at all.
Gao Mo had already seen that Gao Jingshi was unwilling to talk to him, so he took the initiative to lead him out of the house, finally freeing Gao Jingshi.
As soon as Gao Jingshi returned to the study, he heard Liu Xin ask: "This Gao Huai's name seems a bit familiar. I always feel that I have heard it somewhere, but I can't remember it... I see that your attitude towards him is a bit strange, shouldn't it?" Is it just because you two are the ‘family’?”
Gao Jingshi snorted and said angrily: "In the Xinzheng Gao family's family, how can I and a minister who came from a gangster in the capital be the same family? As for the fact that this guy's name seems familiar to you, it's probably because he is notorious. It will be stinking for thousands of years.”
"Wow!" Liu Xin was quite surprised when she heard this. She opened her eyes and said, "I have never heard comments like 'notorious and infamy' from you a few times. What kind of bad thing did this guy do? Such an accusation?"
Gao Jingshi said angrily: "What bad thing? That's a lot of bamboo in the Southern Mountains, and there's no end to the sins; it's hard to eliminate the waves in the East China Sea! Have you ever heard of the words 'Gaohuai chaos in Liao Dynasty'?"
"I seem to have an impression. Why don't you tell me more?" Liu Xin found it rare to see Gao Pragmatic get angry, and she was very curious about what the eunuch had done. Gao pragmatic didn't play any tricks this time and immediately told her about Gao Huai.
According to what Gao Jingshi said, Gao Huai was from the capital, a rogue, and made a living by collecting taxes for others in Chongwenmen. He was similar to a modern loan shark company who came to collect debts, or a younger brother who collected protection fees from the local government, so he knew how to collect taxes. the benefits of.
Gao Huai originally had a wife and children, but when he owed a lot of debt and had no money to pay it back because of his gambling and whoring, in order to avoid the debt and to get ahead, he actually committed suicide in the palace to enter the palace (as mentioned earlier, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was very poor. (who have this "tradition").
Later, Gao Huai slowly accumulated some money in the palace. This time he did not spend it randomly (or maybe he had no place to spend it). Instead, he bribed the emperor's favorite Yan Dajing and successfully obtained the position of tax supervisor in Liaodong.
The tax eunuchs themselves had no rank. Gao Huai supervised the taxes in Liaodong as Shangshan Supervisor and Supervisor. Jian Cheng is the third rank in the eunuch official system, the fifth rank. Speaking of which, a scoundrel back then had reached the fifth level, and he could be regarded as having a glorious ancestor.
In March of the 27th year of Wanli, Gao Huai officially arrived in Liaodong. In just two months, Gao Huai handed over all the 500 taels of silver he had collected to the emperor. Zhu Yijun was very happy and gave him the residence of the eunuch who guarded Liaodong, and named him Fuyangdian, so that he could continue to collect taxes as the government office. As a result, Gao Huai became even more excited.
If Gao Huai just mined and collected taxes honestly, perhaps future generations would have a slightly higher evaluation of him, but don't forget that he was a rogue loan shark. Now that the villain has succeeded, he will naturally swell out of proportion. He was in charge of the former governor's mansion, but as a result, he really regarded himself as the guard eunuch of the main town, and secretly added the word "guard" to his position, making him look like a local official.
This matter was once impeached by Liaodong officials. Unexpectedly, Zhu Yijun said "I am determined to do so" and recognized Gao Huai's private position. As a result, Gao Huai became the real eunuch guarding Liaodong, and his full name has since become "The imperial envoy guards Liaodong and other places and cooperates with the Shanhaiguan Supervisor to collect Fuyang store tax and manage mining affairs. Ma Shi Taifu" is child's play and really absurd.
After Gao Huai was recognized as the eunuch guarding Liaodong in May of the 27th year of Wanli, he became the emperor of Liaodong. Until Gaohuai returned to the dynasty in the 36th year of Wanli, the ten years were called the darkest moments of Liaodong.
"History of the Ming Dynasty" states that among the many mining supervisors and tax envoys, "the most tyrannical ones include Chen Feng and Gao Huai", and lists Gao Huai as the representative of the tyrannical eunuchs. It is easy to imagine how powerful and harmful he was. "The Biography of Gao Huai" has less than 600 words, but it lists more than ten crimes, two of which are the most serious.
The first is to pretend to understand, interfere in military affairs, and undermine Liaodong's defense. In Liaodong during the Wanli period, there were Japanese pirates in the south (during the Korean War) and Tartars in the north. The conflict between the Ming Dynasty and the Jurchens was very serious, and there were also Japanese pirates harassing the sea in the south. Fortunately, at this time, the Ming Dynasty still had a complete defense system in Liaodong, and the responsibilities of the garrison in each city were also very clear.
Gao Huai's job was to collect taxes, but since he got the title of guard, he actually regarded himself as a general guarding the local area and interfered wantonly in local military affairs. For example, in the thirty-fourth year of Wanli period, the bandit chief Ang led an invasion to the east of Shanhaiguan with ten thousand people. The local defenders had successfully repelled it, but after Gaohuai got the news, he had to force the officers and soldiers of each city to pursue it, causing the towns in Liaodong to Defense is empty. Although luck was very good this time and the incident did not cause serious consequences, it caused unanimous and serious concern among the officials in Liaodong.
The second is frantic searching. Gaohuai's specialty is extortion, but Liaodong is different from other places. In the original history, this place did not have the corn and drought-tolerant rice introduced by Gao pragmatism today. At that time, "the only type of millet grown in Liaodong was millet, which was only ripe every year, but the rain was not good, and there was drought everywhere." In addition, it was located on a frontier, so the economy was very backward. Now Gaohuai has come to scrape the land again, knocking the bones and sucking out the marrow. What else can be left behind? good?
According to "Records of Shenzong", Gao Huai donated three times to the palace, totaling 45,500 taels of silver. But this is very problematic. Is it possible that he only collected such a small amount of money in Liaodong for ten years?
"The Biography of Gaohuai" says that he plundered at least hundreds of thousands, which shows that most of it went into his own pocket. And such a cruel search was naturally based on the massive bankruptcy of the people in Liaodong.
Li Hualong, the governor of Liaodong at the time, once said that there were originally 47 large households in Liaoyang, all with assets worth tens of millions, but "the search for Huai has been exhausted" and all of them were ruined. Big households can't stand it, but ordinary people can imagine it. Therefore, the people of Liaodong at that time sang: "Liao people have no brains, they all cut them out in the Huai River; Liao people have no marrow, they all drain them in the Huai River."
The harm caused by Gaohuai's rebellion in the Liao Dynasty was politically the destruction of war defense, excessive command, and the seizure of military power; economically it was excessive extortion, leaving the people with no place to stand. Under such a dark rule, the internal situation in Liaodong was already precarious.
In the twenty-eighth year of Wanli, the demon Dao Jin Deshi of Liaodong (who is said to be a Korean) successfully launched the Liaozuo Rebellion with the cult as a rallying cry and the current suffering as a temptation. More than 3,000 people (according to Korean records, 50,000) The poor peasants who were forced to live by Gaohuai set off a riot and separatized Gushan Fort. The struggle between these people lasted for half a year, and was finally pacified after the Ming Dynasty mobilized elites from Liaodong to conquer.
This riot was obviously a dangerous signal. Liaodong, which had been threatened by foreign enemies, was now uneasy internally. Governor Li Hualong shouted: "Liaodong is in danger" and warned the court that "if Huaihe goes, Liao'an will be safe, and if Huai stays, Liao'an will be destroyed"! Also known as: "If the Liao Dynasty falls, the capital will not have a peaceful pillow to rest on."
However, these remarks were not recognized by Zhu Yijun, and Gao Huai continued to extort money in Liaodong. Until the situation in Liaodong became more chaotic, officials and generals from all parties impeached Gao Huai. Zhu Yijun could not withstand the pressure, and was imprisoned in the 36th year of Wanli. Forced to recall Gaohuai.
However, it was too late. The economy of Liaodong had suffered huge damage and the people's hearts were no longer there. However, Nurhachi worked hard to win over people's hearts over time, which led to a serious phenomenon of people and military households in Liaodong fleeing the Jurchens. Another ten years later, in the forty-seventh year of Wanli, the Battle of Saarhu finally broke out, and the Ming Dynasty's advantage in Liaodong completely disappeared.
"Ah, I remembered. When you told me about Li Chengliang's history, you once said this - when Gao Huai was in chaos in Liaodong, Li Chengliang went to suppress Liao for the second time, and he was complicit with him, right?" Liu Xin Finally remembered.
Gao Pragmatic nodded and said: "Yes, at that time Li Chengliang had long lost the vigor he had many years ago, and just wanted to hang out for a day. He did not dare to go against Gao Huai, who seemed to be trusted by the emperor, so not only did he not object , and even colluded with Gao Huaihang, which finally caused the situation in Liaodong to get out of control."
"So your point of view is that Gao Huai is the culprit. Although Li Chengliang has a higher status, he is actually just an accomplice." Liu Xin frowned and thought: "Then what are you going to do now? While this guy is still just a young prisoner, Press him to death in advance?"
"I'm not afraid of changing history, especially changing it for the better." Gao Pragmatic said calmly: "The current good situation in Liaodong is the result of my many years of hard work. I will never let someone like Gao Huai ruin my plan. .”
He paused and said in a deep voice: "Removing a Gao Huai is like slaughtering a dog."
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi", "Yun Fuyue Yu", and "Amateur Watch" for their monthly support, thank you!
PS: The previous chapter is to make up for yesterday, and this chapter is to make up for today. Well... I don't owe any more.
