In this July of the forty-eighth year of Wanli, Zheng Haizhu was not only thinking about Zhu Yipai of Lalu Mansion participating in his jewelry maritime trade.
Of course she paid attention to the movements in the capital.
The butterfly wings changed the outcome of the Battle of Fushun, which directly led to the Battle of Sarhu not happening. However, this slight deviation of the wheel of history did not seem to allow Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun to live a few more years.
The most criticized emperor of the Ming Dynasty will soon rule Bintian.
Before Zheng Haizhu set off from Songjiang to Yanzhou, when he went to say goodbye to Huang Zunsu and his wife, Huang Zunsu showed a vaguely worried and eager attitude, which obviously showed that the Donglin faction who stayed in the officialdom of the capital had sent sensitive information from the DPRK and China back to Jiangnan. .
Over the past five years, Zheng Haizhu, who has become a close friend of the Huang family, has a general understanding of the activities of the Donglin Sect. Leading figures such as Gao Panlong, Zou Yuanbiao and Zhao Nanxing, while giving lectures in the field, always maintained communication with Donglin disciples in the capital.
It is clear to the beholder, let alone the beholder from later generations.
Zheng Haizhu was convinced that these Donglin people, on the surface, showed disdain to compete with the Qi, Chu, and Zhejiang parties for power, but in fact they were only thinking about assisting Zuo Xinjun and joining the new team.
At the Yanzhou Wharf on the canal, Zheng Haizhu welcomed Dong Qichang and his eldest grandson, the sixteen-year-old Dong Ting, who accompanied him to the capital.
Dong Qichang's image among scholars has always been that of a collector and connoisseur of calligraphy and painting.
Like Xu Guangqi, who loved Western learning, he did not get involved in the fights between various parties. Just because he was in Wudi, he was more or less inclined to the Donglin faction.
He also served as Prince Zhu Changluo's teacher. Zhu Changluo was quite fond of him at that time, so the Donglin sect, which prided itself on being a pure scholar and supported the prince, also became friendly with him.
At the juncture when the prince was about to inherit the throne, Dong Qichang came to Beijing in the name of being invited to appreciate calligraphy and painting and pay a visit in the same year. Everyone in the scholarly community figured out that this prince's rise was probably based on the background of the prince's former teacher.
At least I can have a good seat in the etiquette department.
As soon as the Dong family's grandparents settled down in the post house, Dong Qichang ordered Dong Ting to invite Zheng Haizhu to speak.
What cannot be said in a letter can be explained in person.
"Mrs. Zheng, the Zhejiang Party is going to make a last ditch effort to throw dirty water on the Songjiang switch. The reason is related to the Jurchens stealing firearms. What the Zhejiang Party means is that Songjiang is not far from Liaodong. In those days, officials transported money, food and military pay to Liaodong, Shandong and There are only two docks in Nanzhili. Today, Dengzhou is still a military port, but Songjiang has become a maritime trade port like Zhangzhou, Fujian. The Jurchens disguised themselves as maritime merchants and entered Nanzhili. It is difficult to prevent them. You have a female this time. The true way is the clear proof.”
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself that what he and Huang Zunsu had been worried about had indeed happened.
Party strife is really unreasonable.
"Dong Gong, what does the Tatar uprising have to do with the switch? In front of Mr. Long Qing, the sea ban is an iron law, but the Japanese pirates are still making trouble? The Tatars are becoming more and more capable. Where can they be blocked? A strong army can defend the territory and manage Liaodong. , is the priority.”
Dong Qichang took a sip of tea and said "huh" noncommittally.
Zheng Haizhu's defense was exactly the same as Huang Zunsu's questioning when he heard about the impeachment.
That's the truth, but trying to reason with the opposition is a waste of time.
Dong Qichang soon understood this understanding after he ranked first in the second class of Jinshi many years ago and entered the Hanlin Academy.
Now that Dong Qichang has passed his sixtieth birthday, he is too lazy to spend more time arguing the right and wrong.
If you have the time, you might as well buy a few more paintings, or like Xu Guangqi, translate a few more Thai and Western books, and plant a few acres of sweet potato fields.
It was only because Zheng Haizhu had played an important role in preventing Dong's house from being burned down, and this woman was well-known in Songjiang and Chongming, that Dong Qichang stopped in Yanzhou to negotiate with her, partly to repay his favor and partly for business purposes. Ways to save yourself.
Dong Qichang then changed his tone to a less formal tone and said with a smile: "Miss Zheng, as an old man from Songjiang, I have seen that the advantages of switching outweigh the disadvantages, so you don't have to make a conceited statement to me. Say this to the Zhejiang Party, even more It’s useless. I asked you to follow me to Beijing in my letter, because I want to meet the people you should meet.”
Zheng Haizhu listened attentively and learned that the first person Dong Qichang wanted to take her to see was Wang An, the great king of the Forbidden City.
The eunuch Wang An was the companion of the prince Zhu Changluo. As the prince's master, Dong Qichang was naturally familiar with Wang An.
According to Dong Qichang's analysis, the top eunuchs in the imperial court today include: Lu Shou, Cui Wensheng, Wang An, Zou Yi, Li Shi, and Tian Zhao.
Whose are these internal ministers? The civil servants and military generals of the outer dynasty have a clear mind.
Lu Shou was a confidant of Emperor Wanli, and he was currently sitting in the seat of the Chief of Ceremonies and the Eunuch of the Imprint.
Cui Wensheng belongs to Concubine Zheng.
Tian Zhao was the "Li Xuanshi" in the echelon of the prince's concubines.
There are only three people who truly belong to the direct lineage of Prince Zhu Changluo: Wang An, Zou Yi, and Li Shi.
Among them, Wang An has the oldest qualifications and the highest level of education. During the "Euccalyptus Strike" that caused a lot of turmoil that year, as the chief think tank of the Crown Prince Zhu Changluo, he stepped in to change the relationship between Concubine Zheng and the Crown Prince, temporarily stabilizing the relationship. Concubine Zheng ensured that Zhu Changluo would not be further disliked by his father, Emperor Wanli.
"Miss Zheng," Dong Qichang lowered his voice more and more, but said with confidence, "I want to come, after the new king ascends the throne, Lu Shouxian will stay in the post of Chief Supervisor of Ceremonies for a while, just to show off. Cui Wensheng will definitely be promoted. In order to appease Concubine Zheng Guifei and the Zhejiang Party behind her, Tian Zhao will also be promoted to Bingbi. After all, Li Xuanshi is now the most favored by the prince. The remaining three positions of Bingbi are Wang, Zou and Li. They have all been the prince’s father-in-law.”
In the political struggles of the past dynasties, personnel arrangements are the first priority.
Zheng Haizhu, who was bombarded by Dong Qichang's information, sorted out the clues and continued: "So, the prince will do some writing for a while. It seems that he is on an equal footing with Cui Eunuch and Tian Eunuch. The new king can even be in charge of the four divisions, eight bureaus and ten bureaus." When he was the second prisoner, the fertile fields were allocated to Eunuch Zou and Eunuch Li, who were both his direct descendants. But the real position reserved for Wang Gonggong was the chief of the ceremonial supervisor. If Eunuch Lu knew the current affairs, he should take the initiative to resign and let Wang Eunuch take over. .”
Dong Qichang smiled and nodded, thinking that this woman is not bad, she is not only bloody and brave, but also has a clear mind.
The shrewd Songjiang man continued to speak clearly: "Miss Zheng, Eunuch Wang will soon have a bright future with flowers and brocades and fire cooking oil. He is also Liu Shimin's boss in the Weaving Bureau, and you have a close relationship with Eunuch Liu. So, I, first of all, Lead you to see the prince. On the matter of establishing the crown prince, the prince is standing side by side with the Donglin people, but he must have his own plan. If he really wants to lose his soldiers to protect his chariot and betray other factions in the dynasty to save face, don't treat you I will treat you as an abandoned son with Mr. Huang, and look for other pawns."
After Dong Qichang finished speaking, he glanced at Dong Ting, who was standing quietly beside him.
Although the sons are not wild dandies, most of them are dull and incompetent. The second son Dong Zuchang is so henpecked that his wife, Yin, makes publicity everywhere and makes the Songjiang people a joke.
Only this eldest grandson, Dong Ting, was cautious in his words and deeds at a young age and had a calm temperament. He seemed to be promising, so Dong Qichang came to Beijing this time to wait for his return as an official, so he took Dong Ting with him.
Dong Ting quickly echoed his grandfather's gaze. The young man understood that what his grandfather meant was to listen, learn, and write it down. Eight-legged essays are just a stepping stone. If you really enter the officialdom, what I said to Mrs. Zheng will be used. Get.
Dong Ting then bowed down, poured a cup of tea, and brought it to Zheng Haizhu.
Zheng Haizhu returned the gift to the young man, but still looked pious and asked Dong Qichang: "Thanks to Mr. Dong for taking care of and guiding the way, who is the second person I want to see?"
"Of course it's the military department that's responsible for the matter, Yang Lian."
