After Zhang Juzheng became Prime Minister, the neighbors of the original Hufangqiao old house moved out and sold half of the alley to the Zhang family. As Zhang Juzheng's power increased, Zhang's residence at this time occupied an area of more than 20 acres and was as luxurious as a prince.
Although it occupies a vast area, Zhang Juzheng mostly still lived in his original study near the water when he returned home. When he was sent back from the political hall, his face was haggard and gray, which shocked the whole Zhang family.
After the arrangements were made, Zhang Juzheng held on and said to Zhang Jingxiu: "Go and call Mr. Yao over." Then he said to his second son Zhang Sixiu: "Go and write a post, Mr. Zihe (Liu Yingjie), Mr. Shui Lian (Pan) Sheng) and Mr. Shi Ting (Yin Zhengmao) have made an appointment to meet tonight." After thinking for a while, he said, "Call Ru Mo (Shen Shixing) and Wang Zhuan as well."
After his two sons went out separately, Zhang Juzheng took another styrax pill and closed his eyes to rest. A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Jingxiu and Yao Kuang arrived together.
Seeing Zhang Juzheng's face like gold paper, Yao Kuang sighed: "Why should Prime Minister be so anxious to get angry? Such postings are just some animals getting mad and barking. The emperor can also get angry because of it. You can relax your mind and take some time to take care of your health." .”
Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng opened his eyes and said with a wry smile: "In the past, when my ancestor was stabbed, I was not in the same state of mind. In the ten years of the Bing Kingdom, I could no longer wear hairpins, my body was too weak to wear clothes, and I was even more afraid of the cold at high places. Yea." After saying that, he let out a long sigh, feeling very dejected.
Yao Kuang said: "The emperor trusts the prime minister. There has never been such a holy family member in the past dynasties. Why do you have to say such depressing words?" Zhang Jingxiu said at the side: "Father, don't worry, the sixth brother Fang Jiguan, the emperor has already intended to use Shou Yang." Princess Shangzhi——"
Zhang Juzheng said: "Alas. You just got the title. I don't know how to write the words "The emperor's heart is like a prison". Since this year, Zhejiang has been the first to report a major case, which has not yet been dealt with clearly. The capital has announced another case today, and I don't expect it to happen again. There will be another big prison in the future.”
"In the first year of Wanli, when the platform was called, the emperor intended to reform, but I stopped him. In the fifth year of Wanli, the emperor promised to take the position of prime minister in order to repay the emperor's favor, so he had no choice but to shoulder this heavy burden. ——In the past five years, we have been surrounded by enemies on all sides. Even if our family is rich for a while, how can it last long? If I give up and go west, if a case like the Liu Tai case happens again, it may destroy my family."
When Yao Kuang heard about it, he was surprised and said, "Sir, is it possible that Liu Tai was really unjustly accused?" After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng looked sadly and nodded slowly. Yao Kuang took a breath and was speechless for a moment.
Zhang Juzheng said: "I am the master of Liu Tai, and his five thousand words are very vicious to the bone. If he is not dealt with seriously, where is the authority of the Prime Minister? He has to listen."
"Zhang Xueyan came to the Logistics Department of the Privy Council the year before last. It was said that he was inseparable from the Zhejiang case, and he was worried all day long. However, the Emperor himself is investigating the root cause of this case, and there is nothing I can do. The case was revealed because someone was eyeing Zhang Xueyan's line. Xiang Zhuangwu The sword is meant to maintain justice."
When Yao Kuang heard that the situation was so dangerous, he swallowed and said, "Then Liu Tai's death was -"
Zhang Juzheng shook his head and said: "This is not my instruction. How can I care about a dead dog? Back then, the emperor decreed that people who use the imperial staff are not allowed to use it. Why should I provoke that anger? When I saw the post, I I guess this is a plan to blame Jiangdong."
Yao Kuang secretly said in surprise: "In the past few years, the emperor has made many moves, and the court has already discussed it. Your Excellency, your command is as good as your wish, and you can use your fingers like an arm. Who else can make such a killing move?"
Zhang Juzheng frowned and said, "That's what I'm worried about. Venomous snakes hiding in the grass are scary. I really don't know where this hidden arrow came from."
As Zhang Juzheng's most trusted aide, Yao Kuang's wealth and life were tied to Zhang Juzheng. At this time, Zhang Juzheng revealed all the secrets and asked him for advice. In his mind, he quickly sorted through Zhang Juzheng's inner circle, outer circle and various factions in the court, trying to find any clues.
Zhang Jingxiu said at the side: "Father, did you start with Wu Wenhua, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Guo Yingpin, the governor of Guangxi? They were not recommended by my father, and the news of Liu Tai's sudden death must have passed through the hands of Guo Yingpin first. And if he did not report it to the central government, there would be very few traces. suspicious."
Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and said: "Xiaojiang (note: Wu Wenhua's nickname) is a kind, gentle and respectful person, so he must not do this weird thing. As for Guo's application -" his eyes turned to Yao Kuang.
Yao Kuang said: "Guo Huaxi and Liu Tai have been close to each other before, and he would not kill him like this. This matter should have nothing to do with the two of them. As for what the young master said, if Guo Huaxi's news does not spread to the Central Committee's suspicion, then Liu Tai will not As a prisoner of one crime, what reason does Guo Huaxi have to report the news of his death? It is right not to report it."
Zhang Juzheng smiled bitterly and said: "If you can guess who is making the move at once, then the unveiling case will be too simple." After saying this, he felt tired again and closed his eyes.
Yao Kuang said: "Young Master and I will go down and think about it first. The Prime Minister will lie down for a while." Zhang Juzheng nodded. Before going out, Yao Kuang said: "After a while, the emperor will send the imperial doctor. How to deal with it?"
Zhang Juzheng closed his eyes and said, "I'm not pretending to be sick. There's no need to deal with it. It's okay to let them take care of it." Yao Kuang agreed and followed Zhang Jingxiu out.
Zhang Jingxiu called You Qi over again and told him to take good care of him. After the arrangements were made, he entered Yao Kuang's room and said, "Sir, do you have any clues?"
Yao Kuang smiled bitterly and said, "It would be great if Mr. Yihe were here. No one can compare to him in peeling off cocoons." The Mr. Yihe he mentioned refers to Li Youzi, who retired due to illness in the eighth year of Wanli. Zhang Jingxiu heard this and asked, "Is it possible to just report and ask for advice?"
After hearing this, Yao Kuang was speechless again about Zhang Jingxiu's emotional intelligence. But because we have been together for many years, we don’t care about each other. He just smiled and said: "Young master, you don't have to be like this. Mr. Yihe wrote a letter before, saying that his condition is quite serious. Besides, he is in Yingcheng County. Just reporting to Jiangling and sending a letter will take two or three days. Waiting for his reply, this The confrontation in the court also came to an end."
After a pause, he said again: "Young Master, there is no need to worry. What Your Excellency just said, the implicit meaning is the four words "The bird is gone and the bow is hidden" - in my opinion, he has thought too much. The Emperor has no grudge against Your Excellency, Why should he be afraid of this? He is just too cautious and self-restrained."
"The Prime Minister said that the reform started in the fifth year of Wanli. In fact, the preparation work alone took three years. It was not until the eighth year of Wanli that it was fully rolled out. This difficult matter will be later. If the Prime Minister did not sit in the court, this would be very difficult. Chao Wenwu must not be fooled - now the emperor cannot live without his prime minister. If the emperor really wanted to change his prime minister, he would have started to cultivate a replacement candidate long ago. "
"Nowadays, among Wang Guoguang and Zhang Siwei, who can take over this big stall? The Prime Minister is definitely overly worried - but it is not his fault. If the status of this person is not cautious and self-defeating, he will have long been destroyed. He became domineering and made the emperor disgusted."
As he was talking, the imperial doctor sent by the palace arrived, and the accompanying lieutenant general also brought the emperor's condolences and supplements. Yao Kuang smiled and said: "What do I say? I guess the emperor sent someone as soon as he got the news. This holy family is still the same as before."
Zhang Jingxiu felt relieved after hearing Yao Kuang's words of relief. Yao Kuang took out the Baiguan genealogy in his room and began to write and draw, falling into a long examination.
...
At this time, in the capital, due to the scandal of exposing the posters, the business in the towers and tiles was booming that day. Officials from all walks of life booked all the more secret private rooms. They had to seize the time to communicate with those close to them, so as to judge the direction of the wind so as to stand in line.
When the lanterns first came on, Liu Yingjie, Yin Zhengmao, Pan Sheng, Shen Shixing and Wang Zhuan arrived one after another. Zhang Juzheng supported his illness and held a small meeting with these core members of the reform faction in his study.
After the reform, the two governors-general Liu Yingjie and Yin Zhengmao served as deputy envoys of the Privy Council and ministers of the Military and Military Affairs Department and the Military Training Department respectively, which was equivalent to transferring from the civil service system to the privy system, and their ranks jumped to the first rank; Pan Sheng retired in Lu Tiaoyang Later, he entered the cabinet; Shen Shixing took over as his minister of rites; Wang Zhuan was appointed as the minister of the Ministry of official affairs at this time, and was the core of Zhang's party in manipulating personnel. His son was engaged to Zhang Jingxiu's daughter, and he was completely politically dependent on Zhang Juzheng.
These people may be Zhang Juzheng's fellow villagers, his friends, or his disciples. They are the core members of Zhang Juzheng's Party who can rely on him to confide in his affairs. Due to the exposure of the post, Zhang Juzheng could not avoid taboos and had to hold this meeting to unify the pace of the next political struggle.
After thinking about it in the afternoon, both Zhang Juzheng and Yao Kuang came to the same conclusion. The unveiling case was aimed at Zhang Juzheng. The person in charge had two purposes. One was to crucify Zhang Xueyan and Wang Zongzai, the important members of the Zhang Party, and try to reverse the case for Liu Tai, thereby shaking the legitimacy of the Wanli Five-Year Emperor's Staff and accumulating strength for the anti-reform movement; the other was to expose the post. case and the "empty salary case", secretly attacked Zhang Juzheng, and prepared for the post-Zhang Juzheng era.
The main reason for the opponent's attack was the surgery Zhang Juzheng had performed after his 1980s. Based on people's understanding of the disease at this time, Zhang Juzheng, who had undergone general anesthesia surgery, should be in a state of "blood stasis and Qi deficiency, and it is difficult to recover from serious illness" - he may become ill at any time.
After a few people gathered together, Yao Kuang gave a little explanation, and everyone agreed. Shen Shixing said: "The Prime Minister passed out in the political hall today, which further strengthened the intention of the person behind the scenes." Liu Yingjie smiled and said: "I am afraid that he will shrink back. If this person really thinks that Duke Jiangling is dying, he might be able to show his tail. "
Wang Zhuan was a man of rare talent. He passed the imperial examination in the 34th year of Jiajing's reign and served as county governor for seven years. In the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, he resigned from office to take part in the imperial examination and passed the Jinshi examination. After working as a censor for two years, he entered the civil service department and worked from the grassroots level to the rank of assistant minister. His long-term personnel work created his deep knowledge of the city.
He pondered: "The person in charge is very insidious. Although the details of Liu Tai's sudden death have not yet been concluded, as soon as the case was revealed, the blame for his untimely death was placed on the head of Prime Minister Zhang; and Zhang Xueyan was already free of charge. If we cannot protect ourselves in the case, and if Liu Tai is unjustly convicted, we will turn the corner and be completely dead. This is a way to concentrate our forces and cut off even one of us - without any exposure at all."
Yin Zhengmao listened to his analysis and believed deeply, and spoke from the perspective of military art: "The people behind the scenes are hiding in the dark. Only when the power in the court becomes clear, can we distinguish between friends and foes. By then, the two sides will be equally powerful." , I’m afraid it has entered the decisive stage.”
These people had a heated discussion, and based on the theory that the beneficiary was the murderer, Wang Guoguang and Zhang Siwei became suspects.
Regarding Wang Guoguang, Zhang Dang judged that most of his energy was spent on his lower body and he might not have the means; and as long as Wang Guoguang remained wealthy, he had no intention of reaching the top of the cabinet. In other words, this person will listen to whoever is in power and is a neutral force.
As for Zhang Siwei, even though she had been the daughter-in-law of the cabinet for seven or eight years, she still accepted it. What's more, he has the highest voice for succession. As long as he doesn't make mistakes, why take the risk? Zhang Siwei has experienced a painful lesson in what Yu Mao learned in the past. Does he still dare to do such a thing now?
Pan Sheng said: "Is it possible that the person in charge just wants us to doubt these two people? His original intention is not to criticize the prime minister, but to alienate the cabinet and shake up the reform situation? This matter suddenly happened, and Wang and Zhang had also previously There are no signs—or, can’t we look at it from the direction of a power struggle?”
Everyone was an old man in the officialdom. At first, they all thought about the power struggle and did not think about it in this direction. Pan Sheng made the point, Zhang Juzheng clapped his hands and said: "Shao Fang is undoubtedly unquestionable and worthy of being a 'talent'. This must be the case!"
Everyone's thoughts were opened by Pan Sheng, and they all felt that it made sense. Wang Zhuan sighed: "As a result, it will be more difficult to find the person behind this - from now on, you will have a pair of eyes on your back!"
Liu Yingjie said: "When we entered the officialdom, we were all aware of the turbulence and evil. Who didn't keep an eye on things, and who didn't plot in his belly? It's just that we met a wise master who made great changes in order to revitalize the country. Only then did we become like-minded. If you want to succeed in your career and be famous in history—in the final analysis, don’t even think about it if you put on this red robe.”
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