Chapter 584 Chapter 583 Chief Assistant? The richest man?
After the brief shock caused by the impact of the Yan family's huge wealth, the Ming court regained calm.
At this time, the cabinet had Xu Jie as its chief assistant. With the assistance of Yan Na and Li Chunfang, the government affairs were managed in an orderly manner, and all the officials were convinced. The Ming Dynasty seemed to be calm all of a sudden.
A few days after Wei Guangde sent someone to send a letter to Nanjing, Duan Mengxian came to visit again and told him that he had found a few people in the same year who had a good relationship with Cen Yongbin to write a letter for Zhang Keguan.
“When Qing Jin returns to Beijing and asks him to thank you for the treat, I will not overshadow the guest and thank you for him.”
Wei Guangde joked with a smile.
Now I have done everything I can. I just hope that this Cen Yongbin will not be the unkind person Duan Mengxian said, lest after the Ming Dynasty gave birth to Hai Qingtian, there would be another Cen Qingtian. For the officials of the Ming Dynasty, this was probably going to be a headache, or even a turmoil.
In the following time, Wei Guangde devoted himself wholeheartedly to the school registration ceremony.
Although it is unlikely that Emperor Jiajing will be promoted in the short term because of his hard work in proofreading, it is still very important to leave a good impression on the emperor.
However, this kind of court has only been in the past for less than a month. It seemed like a brief calm before the storm, but suddenly it became different.
First, a decree was issued from the palace, changing Zhu Heng, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing, to Shangshu of the Ministry of Works and the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, in charge of river and water transport affairs.
Two days later, several more edicts were issued, and Qian Bang, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was promoted to Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing, Pan Sheng, the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing, was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Xu Fuzheng, the minister of Guanglu Temple in Nanjing, was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing. .
Nanjing's officialdom suddenly began to undergo a major change. There is no smoke without fire. Sensitive officials in the capital have already sensed that behind the turmoil in Nanjing's officialdom, there seems to be another big boss starting to compete.
But so far, no one knows who ended up and why.
However, after two days of astonishment, all the officials impeached Huang Tingpin, the censor of Zhejiang Province, in the Zuodu Censor Zhang Yongming. When he returned from Zhejiang Province, he passed by Hengshan and was rude to the county magistrate Chen An, who was the magistrate of Hengshan. Chen An angrily reported that he had packed up his luggage and found the gold and silver goods he had brought with him. The emperor was afraid that he would not thank him and he would return the goods.
As the boss of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Zhang Yongming impeached Huang Tingpin for being a traitor to the law and damaging the constitution.
Who is Zhang Yongming? He succeeded Pan En. As for who he is from, Beijing officials still know more or less.
Zhang Yongming suddenly killed his relatives and publicly impeached the censor of this court, which in itself revealed a very unusual flavor.
However, some people have already seen that one of the parties involved in the fight over Nanjing’s officialdom this time should be the chief minister of the dynasty, Xu Ge Lao. Who is the other party?
How many people are there in the current dynasty who are qualified to be Xu Ge’s old rivals?
The first targets to be suspected by all the officials were naturally the other two cabinet ministers, Yan Ne and Li Chunfang.
Li Chunfang has a kind personality and has no ambition or ability to fight for power. As the number one scholar selected by Emperor Jiajing, there is no need to compete for the emperor's favor.
In addition to the rumors that had circulated in the cabinet earlier that Yan Ne had had differences of opinion with Xu Jie, the chief minister, and that the two sides had an unpleasant dispute, the officials quickly confirmed who the boss of the dispute between the DPRK and China was. .
Due to Li Chunfang's personality, he has almost always been a transparent existence among the three cabinet members.
Yan Ne had earlier served as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and had developed the habit of dictating to all officials. After entering the cabinet, he naturally could not adapt to being placed at a lower level.
It is understandable that the two of them were unhappy because of this.
The news spread very quickly through the official circles of the capital. Even Wei Guangde, who was too busy to care about court affairs, heard about it.
"It has been found out that the previous transfer of Nanjing officials was the result of Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Yan Ge impeaching each other?"
Wei Guangde was sitting in the study at this time, listening to Zhang Ji asked after inquiring about the information.
“Yes, it is said that Zhu Heng, the former Minister of Punishment of Nanjing, found out something about Mr. Xu Ge, so Mr. Xu Ge transferred him away from Nanjing to build the canal.
Master, you also know that although building the canal is tiring, it is very profitable, but Zhu Heng seems to be from Yan Ne's side, so he is facing off against Yan Ge's side. "
"Is Huang Tingpin also a senior Yan Ge? "
Wei Guangde asked again.
"It should be. "
Zhang Ji replied, "Otherwise, how could Mr. Zhang impeach him and want to put him in jail? ”
"Those who are moving here seem to be people from Yan Ne's side."
Wei Guangde felt something was wrong when he thought about it. It seemed that Xu Jie was taking the initiative this time, as if he was demonstrating to Yan Ne. Show your power in court.
On Yan Ne's side, his subordinates were replaced one after another, but they did not fight back at all.
Could it be that you are holding back your ultimate move?
Wei Guangde was suspicious, "Is there any other news?"
"No, sir."
Zhang Ji replied.
"You should pay attention to this matter in the past few days, keep an eye on the activities of Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Yan Ge, and report to me immediately if you have anything."
Wei Guangde ordered.
The next day, Wei Guangde did not go directly to the Imperial College Recording Hall early in the morning for duty. Instead, he ran to Prince Yu's Mansion to find Li Fang.
Li Fang is responsible for collecting intelligence for the palace. If you have any doubts, go to Li Fang. If you can't get the information from him, it means the matter is very hidden and difficult to find out.
"Master Wei, why are you free to come to the palace today? The prince hasn't gotten up yet."
Li Fang was very happy to see Wei Guangde coming over and made a little joke.
"I'm not here today as a prince, I'm here to find you."
Wei Guangde smiled.
"Looking for me to help you copy books? Don't tell me, there are several chamberlains in my palace. They were also first-class scholars in the inner study, and their handwriting is also good."
Li Fang said cheerfully.
"Can we not talk about the proofreading ceremony? These days, I have been reading books every day, and my head is spinning."
Wei Guangde said with a bitter smile.
In the past two months, the number of Wei Guangde's visits to Prince Yu's Mansion has indeed decreased significantly. It was Emperor Jiajing who urged him to record books.
"I came here to ask Mr. Xu Ge about something."
Wei Guangde put away his wry smile and said seriously to Li Fang.
“Mr. What does it have to do with it? I’m just curious. What handle does he have on Mr. Xu Ge to scare Mr. Xu Ge like that?”
Wei Guangde replied angrily.
"How do you know that Mr. Yan Ge has something against Mr. Xu Ge?"
Li Fang was very cautious and did not answer Wei Guangde's words, but kept asking Wei Guangde.
"Mr. Yan Ge is planning to set up in Nanjing, and he wants to get Huang Tingpin, the censor from Zhejiang. If I still can't guess what the problem is, this official is not the right one."
Wei Guangde replied, "I asked you to keep an eye on the Xu family before, thinking that coming to you must have the answers I want to know."
"Why are you asking this?"
Li Fang frowned and said at this time.
“I am curious, but it is also for the sake of the court situation. What is needed now is a relatively stable court, and we will wait until that day.”
Wei Guangde replied, “If the two ministers in the cabinet interact with each other, attack, criticize It will definitely cause turmoil in the government and the public, which is not good for King Yu." After hearing this, Li Fang nodded silently, then waved her hand to Wei Guangde to signal him to stop talking, then walked to the door and drove away the eunuchs and servants around the house. Yes, I just went back to the house.
"Shandai, I only told His Highness about this matter before. Your Highness means that we should not interfere."
Li Fang first reminded Wei Guangde, saying that it was inconvenient for Prince Yu's Palace to interfere in the dispute between the two elders. struggle.
Of course Wei Guangde understood this and nodded in agreement.
"The cause of the matter is this. Huang Tingpin, the censor of Zhejiang Province, gathered that Xu Yao, a descendant of the Xu family, and others took advantage of the opportunity to go wild in the countryside and occupied more than 200,000 acres of land in Su Song. Evidence.
Xu Ge was worried, so he hurriedly changed people inside and outside Nanjing, trying to suppress the matter before it happened.
As for who Huang Tingpin is, I don’t need to introduce him. "
Li Fang whispered.
"The Xu family has more than 200,000 acres of land? "
Wei Guangde asked in shock.
Li Fang nodded, "If it weren't for the words of Shandai and the spy there, I wouldn't have thought that Xu Ge's family was so wealthy. . ”
Wei Guangde thought for a while, then shook his head and said: "If this is the case, Mr. Xu Ge should also have a good talk with Mr. Yan Ge on how to suppress this matter.
And if this matter did not come from you, I would not There is no way to know yet, which shows that the news is still very secret."
"Who says it is not the case? I think Yan Ne had the chance to stand out from the Hanlin Academy and be called in by the emperor because he was recommended by Mr. Xu Ge. Written by Xiyuan When writing Qing Ci, there’s nothing you can’t sit down and talk about carefully.”
Li Fang also said, “Maybe there was a gap between Mr. Xu Ge and Mr. Yan Ge last time, and Mr. Yan Ge had a problem. He coveted the position of chief minister, and Mr. Xu Ge naturally had to guard against it. "
"The handle is in Mr. Yan Ge's hands, and he is probably waiting for an opportunity to impeach the matter in front of His Majesty. ”
After thinking about it, Wei Guangde understood why he didn't attack even though he held such a sharp weapon in his hand.
Speaking of the Xu family's fields, it is indeed terrifying, but if it comes from normal business, even the emperor will have nothing to say. Is it possible?
No matter how rich Xu Jie is, tens of thousands of acres of land are extremely low, and more than 200,000 acres. At Su Song's land price, it costs a million taels of silver.
Wei Guangde knew without asking that a considerable part of it was donated, and the other fields were probably not very glorious, otherwise there would be no reason to worry about being caught by Huang Tingpin.
Wei Guangde even doubted whether there was land belonging to the Yan family in these fields.
However, if it is just a perfunctory verification, it will actually have no impact on the Xu family at all.
If the Xu family dares to take over these fields, they must have done everything they need to cover up. Even if they knew, it would not be easy to find out.
Yan Na was probably waiting for Emperor Jiajing to report the matter when he was in a bad mood, in order to amplify the impact of the matter.
It is conceivable that the news that the Xu family has more than 200,000 acres of farmland will definitely blow up the entire government and opposition parties.
If this number came out from a certain prince or county prince's palace in the Ming Dynasty, the courtiers might be able to accept it calmly, but it is the place of the chief minister's family.
Don't worry about the scarcity but the inequality. Everyone has thousands of acres of land to support the sky. Suddenly, I realize that you, as the chief minister, have so much land.
"Your Highness is right, this matter is really hard to get involved with."
For a long time, Wei Guangde nodded and said.
“When I told His Highness the news, His Highness was so surprised that he couldn’t sit still for a long time. He asked me to send someone to investigate the matter in detail. Tsk tsk, in our Ming Dynasty, only the Prince’s Palace has so many fields. "
Wei Guangde knew what Li Fang meant. Many princes' mansions owned more land, but the fertile land in Susong's mansion was not comparable to the mountains and ponds granted by the prince's mansion.
But in terms of the quality and quantity of the Xu family's fields, ordinary palaces may not be able to compare with them.
“Yesterday, Mr. Xu Ge also wrote a book, asking the admiral to change Wang Bengu, the censor of the right Qiandu of the Jiangnan Capital Procuratorate, to the censor of the left Qiandu, and be in charge of the affairs of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate.< br>
He was also promoted to be the censor of the Youqian capital of Nanzhili, and he was appointed as the censor of the right deputy capital, to patrol Guizhou."
Li Fang whispered to Wei Guangde again.
“Is Kang Lang a member of Mr. Yan Ge?”
Wei Guangde asked in a low voice.
Li Fang nodded, "He wants to control all the officials in Nanjing, but they are all local promotions, and most of these officials have reached the time when it is time to move. When asked about the officials, No one here knows how to refute Mr. Xu Ge’s proposal.”
“Mr. Xu Ge has been in the cabinet for more than ten years and is deeply rooted.” He glanced at Li Fang.
Li Fang just nodded slightly, but didn't say anything.
In fact, from the look in Li Fang's eyes, Wei Guangde knew that regardless of how Xu Jie treated Prince Yu's palace before, after Prince Yu ascended the throne, once the throne was stabilized, Xu Jie's appointment to the official position would be immediately put on the agenda.
King Yu will not tolerate Xu Jie remaining in the position of chief assistant, because his influence is too great.
"It's getting late, I have to go to the school recording office."
Knowing the answer, Wei Guangde had no intention of staying in Prince Yu's Mansion, but he turned around and quickly turned back. He said to Li Fang: "It is not appropriate for the palace to get involved in this matter, but it seems that we can get some benefits and arrange the staff."
"How to arrange it?"
Li Fang asked after hearing this.
"Yifu is the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. You can consider letting him join the Ministry of Personnel for training.
Look at how many people Xuge has in his pocket. With just a few adjustments, he will be able to change the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Husbandry in Nanjing. Control is in hand, these are all running to check the land Go.
If His Majesty approves Wang Bengu's promotion and takes over the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, even if Yan Na reports the matter, the imperial envoys sent by the imperial court should be left to Mr. Xu Ge's arrangement. "< br>
Wei Guangde sighed and said.
"Ask Chen Yiqin to go to the Ministry of Personnel. I will talk to him about this matter when His Highness gets up. But if this is really going to happen, everything will have to be settled by Gao Shangshu."
Li Fang said in a low voice.
Gao Gong probably never dreamed that except for Chen Yiqin whose attitude was not very clear among the people in Prince Yu's palace, other people such as Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng, Li Fang, and Yin Shizhen all complained about him. .
But Gao Gong is arrogant, thinking that he has everything under control, and does not pay attention to others at all.
After Wei Guangde returned to the school recording hall, Zhang Ji stopped his carriage outside the school recording hall without waiting for news about Xu Jie's memorial from the palace.
"Master, I just got the news. Today, the governor of Zhejiang, Liu Ji, reported that in the 39th year of the year, the governor of Fengyang, Tang Shun, asked to restore the three shipping cities. The shipping tax was low, and there were infringements and provocations from offshore traitors. Therefore, please Discuss the matter."
"Liu Ji wants to close the Ningbo Shipping Department because of low shipping taxes?"
Wei Guangde was surprised when he heard this.
A few years ago, Tang Shun requested that the market be restored to facilitate communication between the imperial court and the vassal states. Unexpectedly, only five years later, someone proposed to cut the ship.
“The governor of the Tang Dynasty said in his memorial that Zhejiang’s coast has many ports and few warships, making it the most difficult to defend, so he requested to be cut off.”
Zhang Ji said.
"Got it."
Wei Guangde just shook his head and lamented that the Ming Dynasty had too much resistance to maritime trade.
(End of this chapter)