Chapter 162: The Palace is Strictly Guarded, Close to the Emperor

Zhang Juzheng's father is 72 years old this year. He has a lot of chronic illnesses. When he will die is beyond the control of classical medicine.

According to historical lifespan, it will only be three years later.

Therefore, Zhu Yijun had to plan ahead - what to do when Zhang Juzheng retired during the mourning period?
It certainly can't be as simple as issuing an edict to seize a lover as it was in history.

What was the situation at that time?
The disciples blocked the door and scolded Zhang Juzheng for being unfilial.

The recommended former officials turned against the government one after another.

Even the ministers who were regarded as like-minded kept silent and dared not express their support, and each of them resigned.

The whole country was in an uproar. Students of the Imperial College mocked it in the eyes of scholars and Confucian scholars, storytellers and actors ridiculed it in the streets and markets, and even vendors got involved and spread the posters.

Ma Ziqiang, Shen Sixiao, Ai Mu, Wu Zhongxing, Zhang Han, Wang Shizhen... too many to list - even unofficial history says that the Prime Minister was so anxious that he cried and drew his sword to commit suicide to express his helplessness to the moralists who came to insult him.

In short, with people with ulterior motives as the backbone and the moral guardians under their wing, countless people stepped on Zhang Juzheng. The drama of teacher-student feud, embellished with unofficial history, instantly led the trend and directly pushed Zhang Juzheng into the bottomless moral abyss.

A unique drama of feudal dynasties: the simplest and most effective way to defeat a person is to discredit him morally.

If a person becomes stinky, everything related to him will also become stinky, including his new policies, his ideas, and even the people who write poems and speak well of him.

With the incident of Zhang Juzheng's love affair as a dividing point, his prestige declined sharply, and some of his former colleagues either retired and returned home, or simply became strangers.

Correspondingly, the cost of the cabinet's governance instantly rose and increased day by day - with the Prime Minister's morals so corrupt, what good new policies could he come up with?

Let alone being of one mind, it's even difficult to be at odds with each other.

At the same time, Zhang Juzheng's mentality and way of doing things also changed drastically after encountering this incident - after Juzheng took away his feelings, he became more willful.

How can state affairs continue to proceed on track after everyone has gone to extremes?
Observe the mourning period. Observe the mourning period.

Even Zhu Yijun, the emperor, found the situation extremely difficult.

In history, didn’t Wanli support Zhang Juzheng in seizing the love interest?

The left sentence is "Now you should think of me, suppress your grief, and fulfill your filial piety", and the right sentence is "I rely on my prime minister very much, how can he leave me for a day? The paternal system should be followed, and the monarch and father are especially important". Aren’t they enough?

Useless.

The emperor is not superior to etiquette and laws. You have swords and sticks in the court, but I also have a glorious record in history.

Does that mean there are no stories about the imperial court? There are too many grand secretaries who have been reinstated.

In June of the sixth year of Yongle, Yang Rong was in mourning, and was reinstated in October; in January of the first year of Xuande, Jin Youzi was in mourning, and was immediately reinstated; in May of the fourth year of Jingtai, Wang Wen was in mourning, and was reinstated in September; in March of the second year of Chenghua, Li Xian was in mourning, and was reinstated in May. There are many such examples.

Also useless.

The laws established by our ancestors are no longer effective at this time, and we have to look to the fundamentalism of "The Book of Rites".

Therefore, Zhu Yijun had to prepare for the future.

The preparation for this matter must be done quietly and subtly, starting with the minor officials. As the saying goes, one must not avoid war and armor, as the ancients said, one must respond to the call and serve in the army, observe mourning for a hundred days, and then be able to go out to work.

As for the future? The Ming Dynasty was plagued by internal and external troubles, so what was there to worry about?
The inertia of human heart has infinite power, and Zhu Yijun naturally has to make good use of it.

After a few years of seizing love, everyone will get used to it. Then when Zhang Juzheng seizing love again, he will be able to shut up the moralists.

If the remaining people with ulterior motives cannot coerce the feudal moralists, how much influence can they still have?

Zhu Yijun smiled confidently.

but……

He had made all kinds of calculations, but he did not expect that Zhang Juzheng would shake his head and say, "Your Majesty has also said that a gentleman should not take away someone else's relatives, nor should he take away relatives."

"My father raised me with great difficulty. Now that I have left my hometown and cannot be with him, it is fine. How can I even plan for my afterlife?"

Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng in surprise.

kindness?
what happened.

This old man didn't have this attitude in history.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the emperor and smiled with relief: "As for the new policy... Your Majesty will be able to do it when the time comes. If you still want to reinstate me, I will serve Your Majesty with all my heart."

Zhu Yijun took a breath silently.

bad thing.

It seems that being too reassuring is not a good thing.

He just kept shaking his head.

"Sir, please don't joke. Among the cabinet members, Mr. Gao is weak and sickly and can't bear the heavy workload; Lu Gong has a weak personality and can't handle things on his own; Wang Chonggu is good at military affairs but has too much selfishness."

"It is because of you that the Cabinet can manage the six ministries, five government offices, nine frontier provinces and thirteen provinces on my behalf, and implement the performance evaluation system and plan land allocation. This is not something you can do. Once you are gone, the six ministries will be in a mess, and I may not be able to control it internally. I will also be alone and unable to do anything."

"Let alone three years, even for one year, I can't leave you, sir."

"National affairs are the greatest filial piety!"

Zhu Yijun grabbed Zhang Juzheng's wrist and immediately blurted out a long speech.

When Zhang Juzheng heard the emperor bring up the hidden danger of the dispute between the cabinet and the six ministries, he could not help but glance at the emperor - So you know that the duties of the cabinet and the six ministries are unclear, why didn't you say anything about it before? Now it has become an excuse for the emperor.

He shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, it is not my intention to get entangled with Your Majesty, and please understand the relationship between father and son."

Seeing that Zhang Juzheng's words came from the heart, Zhu Yijun couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

This is what the Prime Minister said in history: I will go back to observe the mourning period first, and come back after I am done. This minister will report to his father on the 27th month, and will serve the emperor till the end.

Although his love was taken away from him later, he still requested to bring his mother to the capital to take care of her as soon as possible.

Feelings are obviously not plastic.

If one can be both loyal and filial, no one would want to leave their loved ones alone.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and sincerely advised: "Sir, instead of crying in front of the grave for three years, why not bring your parents to the capital to take care of them in advance, and then carry the coffin back to your hometown and observe mourning for a hundred days. Isn't this a better way to fulfill your family love?"

After saying this, Zhang Juzheng smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, but you obviously don't understand rural people."

"I have brought my parents to the capital several times before, but they either worried about the lack of people to feed their chickens and ducks at home, or complained that they had no friends in the city and were bored. They would ask to go back after living there for less than half a month."

"I have no way to fulfill my filial duty."

Climate and money are secondary. With Zhang Juzheng's wealth, it is not difficult for him to build a manor that is warm in winter and cool in summer. The main reason is that his parents cannot stay there.

Zhu Yijun scratched his head.

Zhang Juzheng's description gives me an inexplicably strong sense of déjà vu.

However, the meaning behind his words was obviously somewhat loose.

If his parents could be brought to the capital, the issue of mourning could be discussed - the main thing is to be filial to his parents, so that he can overcome the hurdle in his heart. As for the form, it is secondary.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and immediately came up with an idea. He said thoughtfully, "I heard that you often take strong medicine and are very strong. How about having another child?"

"Just say that you are now busier than before with government affairs, and ask them to come to Beijing to look after one or two grandchildren..."

Zhang Juzheng's youngest son, Zhang Yunxiu, is only seven years old, so it is normal for him to have multiple brothers and sisters.

Zhu Yijun met Zhang Juzheng's stunned eyes and said confidently: "Just follow my method. I hope it will work. Then you can take care of your parents in Beijing and be both loyal and filial."

Let’s not talk about whether it works or not.

Zhang Juzheng couldn't help feeling gratified when the emperor tried so hard to keep him.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng's attitude softened somewhat.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "I... go back and try. I will go back and try."

Zhu Yijun smiled in approval: "This year, I will first give a small reward to your parents, and let them come to the capital to receive the imperial edict and stay for a while."

Zhang Juzheng nodded helplessly.

The two also had a detailed discussion on the matter of Jin Ge Wu Bi's reinstatement.

Some officials were selected and planned to be reinstated in succession in Ji-Liao, the military department of the Ministry of War, the household department of the Ministry of Revenue, the various foreign halls of the Ministry of Rites, the Beijing camp, etc. after a hundred days of mourning during the war in the country.

Changing customs and habits always takes time.

……

The sun gradually rose higher and reached its zenith.

It brings a touch of warmth inside and outside the Huangji Gate in early spring.

Qi Jiguang stood in line with a group of officials from outside the capital, basking in the sunlight. He felt that after the winter passed, his waist and legs, which had been injured in many years of fighting, felt much more comfortable.

Of course, it is definitely not as comfortable as waiting on your knees with knee pads on.

Unfortunately, this time the emperor made a special exception and there is no need to kneel - according to regulations, when a lieutenant general sees the court, those in the capital camp are not required to kneel, but those outside the capital camp are required to kneel.

Qi Jiguang was used to kneeling every time he went to Beijing to meet the emperor, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he was suddenly not allowed to kneel.

This time, the central government summoned him to Beijing alone, but ignored Governor Liu Yingjie, which made Qi Jiguang inevitably quite worried.

He actually doesn't care about these extra rewards or vanity.

What Qi Jiguang cared more about was whether this military campaign could go smoothly and whether he could strike a blow at the Ji-Liao border.

In December of the second year of the Longqing reign, Dong Huli gathered an army of 30,000 and attacked Qingshankou and Tiemenguan.

In the fourth year of Longqing, he gathered another 10,000 troops to attack Yumu Peak.

In February last year, he led more than a thousand cavalrymen to invade the Qiezi Valley.

In April, driven by Tuman Khan, he invaded Jielingkou.

In June, he again led more than a hundred cavalrymen to invade Kulongtai and other places.

In September, he deployed his troops at Dongjiakou again to show off his military might.

It was only when the weather turned cold that the chaos subsided. Now that the snow has melted, I'm afraid it will start again.

Whether this hidden threat could be eliminated in one fell swoop was much more important than Qi Jiguang's personal honor and disgrace.

If one gains some insignificant benefits in official circles, which instead influences Liu Yingjie's attitude and thus ruins big things, that would be heartbreaking.

It is not my intention to be granted the title of Marquis, but I hope the sea will be peaceful.

This was the attitude he adopted when facing the Japanese pirates in the southeast, and the same attitude Qi Jiguang adopted when facing the Tatars in Ji and Liao.

People at that time said that he was full of youthful vigor and spoke casually, but little did they know that this was the essence of his philosophy of mind.

When he was in Ji-Liao, he was inspired to say, "We should always make our hard work and achievements surpass our achievements. It is better to be successful later and suffer many setbacks. Even if it does not benefit ourselves, it will benefit our descendants. When others have achievements, they should praise them. When others want to take my achievements, they should give them up."

This is not only a statement of submission to Liu Yingjie, but also his true words.

It is unwise to affect the overall situation for the sake of temporary benefits.

He often taught his subordinates by example that "merit and fame are divided into categories, and Heaven and Earth forbid taking too much". Isn't this the truth?

If you have ten points of reality and seven or eight points of fame, you can accept it calmly and there won't be too much trouble.

This is Qi Jiguang's way of being an official - "As a general, some people may make achievements but not be rewarded, while others may do good deeds but be unknown." It was for this reason that he went to his old boss Tan Lun and repeatedly requested to leave the gilded springboard of the Beijing camp and go to the border.

It was also for this reason that whenever he saw someone from the central government, no matter if he was an inspector, an imperial censor, or a secretary of the military department, he would always be careful and accompany him.

He will do whatever it takes to please you, and if you ask him to kneel down to you, he will kneel down immediately.

Master Wang said it well, conscience is already there, and the ridicule and denigration of outsiders are nothing but passing clouds.

Well... Li Zhi's theory recently was also very good. He did it for the improvement of the situation in the Ming Dynasty. It's just a small matter and is not important.

In short, what Qi Jiguang cared about most was the military affairs on the border, and he could tolerate all other grievances.

Unfortunately.

There are some things that he can't easily refuse if he wants to.

The central government summoned him to Beijing, and he couldn't just flatter the envoy and ask Liu Yingjie to come along.

Even yesterday, when he went to Zhang Juzheng's residence to ask for an audience, he was turned away. He immediately understood the meaning of this - it was not the custom, nor the cabinet or the Ministry of War, but the emperor who summoned him to the capital.

This left no room for Qi Jiguang to act on his own.

The emperor was still young, and Qi Jiguang didn't know that the emperor had suddenly restored the system of receiving foreign officials, nor did he know why the emperor chose him, let alone what the emperor was doing.

All he could think about now was how to explain the situation of the Tatars in a simple and easy-to-understand way when reporting to the emperor; how to convince the emperor that he would surely win this battle; and how to attribute all the merits and abilities to Governor Liu Yingjie, so as to ease and make up for the relationship with him.

While thinking.

A canopy slowly appeared above the Huangji Gate.

Inside the left and right side gates, the officials standing in the east and west immediately became serious and looked solemn, not looking away.

Without the sound of bells or drums, eunuchs, secretaries of the Secretariat, Hanlin academicians and other close officials filed out under the canopy.

Under the canopy, there is a bright yellow figure that looks like a young man, with the moon surrounded by stars.

Qi Jiguang took a look and dared not look any longer, and quickly lowered his head.

At this time, the ceremonial officers in front and behind the queue spoke out again to remind them, looking directly at the emperor.

Qi Jiguang followed the crowd and looked up.

The young emperor, dressed in royal robes, did not take his seat but stood against the city gate tower, as if to allow the foreign officials to see his face clearly.

"During the reign of Emperor Taizu, whenever an official from outside the capital came to report on something, he would often summon him, give him food, and inquire about the sufferings of the people."

"Even if the county magistrate or the registrar is honest and capable and loves the people, he may be rewarded with an imperial edict or be given wine and gold coins from the imperial palace as a reward."

"During the reigns of Emperors Xuan, Cheng, and Hong, this became a precedent, and officials from other provinces were summoned to the court. The cause of the peace was actually due to this."

"Since I ascended the throne, I have admired the heart of Yu Shun in caring for the people and the way our ancestors reviewed the administration of officials..."

The voice is clear but hoarse.

Qi Jiguang had noticed the emperor's mature demeanor and movements and forgot for a moment that he was a young emperor. Only when he heard the tone of voice had not yet completely changed did he come to his senses.

As the left general of the second rank, he was in a front position and should be able to see the emperor's figure and face clearly.

Although the current emperor is not very old, his body is very coordinated, his arms and shoulders are full and healthy, and he looks nothing like the previous emperor who was hollowed out by alcohol and sex.

Qi Jiguang still remembered clearly the time when the late emperor was forced by Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng to leave the palace for a military review, and how he looked trembling as he clamped his legs against the horse's chest.

On the contrary, this young emperor probably did not neglect his riding and archery lessons.

Qi Jiguang looked at the emperor's arms and shoulders and nodded repeatedly.

The emperor said a few polite words and then went down the city wall.

At the same time, the guiding officer led a group of external officials to the Huangji Palace in batches to meet the emperor.

Qi Jiguang was assigned to the last group. He followed some unfamiliar faces and followed the guide officer step by step towards the Huangji Hall.

Huangji Hall is where grand court meetings are held. It is located on the central axis of the Forbidden City, facing the Meridian Gate, and is magnificent and majestic.

Qi Jiguang had been here three times and was not unfamiliar with the place, but he was still impressed by the atmosphere and followed the guide carefully, fearing that he might make a mistake.

Enter the palace.

The ushering officer was the first to perform the salute: "The palace is strictly guarded, and we are close to His Majesty. I can see that Your Majesty is full of vigor and has a divine appearance. How dare we not pay our respects?"

As he said this, he bowed deeply to the ground.

As a Confucian general, Qi Jiguang knew a thing or two about these red tapes.

The main reason was that there were many minor officials such as county magistrates and chief clerks among the officials outside the capital, who had never seen the emperor, so it was very necessary for someone to set an example for them.

Several officials who followed him into the palace followed suit, saluted the emperor, and repeated the guide's words in an incoherent manner.

Qi Jiguang mixed in with the crowd and was not conspicuous.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat held the daily records in his hand and stood beside the imperial steps, inspired by the ancient dragon head holding a pen.

Zhu Yijun sat on the throne and looked at the people entering the hall and recognized their faces first.

He called out the names given by the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Military Affairs one by one, "Where is Chang Chunqiao, the magistrate of Jiangyou County, Sichuan?"

As soon as he finished speaking, an official in his early twenties stepped out, looking nervous: "Your Majesty, I... am here!"

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. You have done very well this year."

Chang Chunqiao wiped his sweat and said, "It's all my responsibility."

Zhu Yijun flipped through the man's resume and said, "Your predecessor, Zhao Zuo, deducted four cents from the price of each stone of grain when buying and transporting it, stealing a total of more than 2,244 taels of silver. He also imposed additional taxes, collecting only three cents of the court's fixed amount, and owed more than 31,450 taels of tax."

"You recovered all this in one year. Do you have any experience?"

Zhu Yijun had a pleasant expression and gently guided the county magistrate to speak.

It is normal for the predecessor to have flaws - of course, Zhao Zuo has already been executed for embezzling a large amount of border grain and silver - but the successor usually throws up his hands, rolls his eyes, and says that it is none of his business.

It is rare to find someone like County Magistrate Chang who recovers the money for the imperial court.

Chang Chunqiao tried hard to control his accent and to find the right words in his mind. It was really hard. "Your Majesty, the money Zhao Zuo owed was hidden in the mansion. I saw it as soon as I opened the cellar."

"There is no point in talking about the taxes owed. They were all owed by a few big families, and they were protected by Prefect He. I settled the accounts for Prefect He, and he left the big families to me as lambs, and the taxes were collected."

Zhu Yijun's expression changed, and he shook his head and said, "County Magistrate Chang has filed a complaint with the emperor."

He said that this guy was so nervous because he was preparing himself mentally for the petition.

Chang Chunqiao admitted frankly: "The Sichuan Imperial Censor Sun Dai refused to accept the case, so I had no choice but to tell Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "I understand."

After saying this, he gestured to Zheng Zongxue, asking him to pass the message to the Censorate.

Then he turned to the next page: "Where is Wang Xuanshou, the chief clerk of Rui'an?"

Immediately, a middle-aged clerk in his forties stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I am here."

Except for the counties in the two capitals which were one level higher, the county chief clerks elsewhere were all officials of the eighth rank.

Zhu Yijun smiled gently as usual: "The Ministry of Personnel's evaluation of you is that you have outstanding talents and noble character. You are proposed to be promoted to county magistrate. What do you think?"

Wang Xuanshou was caught off guard by the sudden good news.

He looked up at the emperor and tentatively declined, "My contributions are not significant, so I am afraid I do not deserve this promotion."

Zhu Yijun never made things difficult for an honest man. He consoled him, "Whether your achievements are significant or not, the Ministry of Personnel has its own case files to check. Your reputation among the people has also been secretly investigated by the Censorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You don't have to refuse."

"On the contrary, Wang Xiyuan, a scholar, argued that clerks should not be officials with official seals. What do you think?"

Wang Xiyuan was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing's reign, and was selected as a Censor of the Ministry of Personnel last year.

The county magistrate is a county official, a subordinate of the official in charge, commonly known as the top leader.

Wang Xiyuan’s meaning is also very clear.

A clerk with only a civil servant position and without even a student status at the Imperial Academy should not be selected for the top position - no matter how good the performance of a clerk is, his ceiling must be firmly fixed.

After hearing this, Wang Xuanshou straightened his chest for some reason and said, "Your Majesty, I think I have done a good job as the chief official of this county!"

Zhu Yijun smiled with satisfaction: "Then you must continue to work hard after you go back."

After saying this, he waved his hand, indicating that he could leave with the eunuch.

Afterwards, Zhu Yijun called on a few more people one after another and spoke briefly to them.

It may be encouragement, comfort, praise, and of course, criticism.

For example, Huang Xuehai, the prefect of Ganzhou Prefecture, came to Beijing to receive a reward. However, after entering the capital, he was discovered by Yan Ruhuan, the censor of Jiangxi Province, that more than 9,000 taels of silver were missing from the treasury he handed over. It was discovered that the treasury servant Yang Yuguang and others had stolen the money.

Zhu Yijun naturally offset Huang Xuehai's merits and demerits and sent him back to cooperate with the investigation.

Some are promoted beyond the standard.

For example, the magistrate of Fengcheng County in Nanchang Prefecture was summoned to Beijing to receive a reward as a model for tax collection. However, just as he left, on the night of December 13, robbers broke into the city and robbed the treasury.

According to the report of Jiangxi Governor Ling Yunyi, the county initially reported a loss of more than 2,700 taels of silver, which later increased to more than 6,000 taels, 80% of which was due to internal collusion with bandits.

Zhu Yijun promoted the county magistrate to be the prefect and ordered him to go back and clean up the mess immediately. He told him not to be afraid of such revenge and to take revenge. He should continue to collect taxes and said that he had high hopes for him.

Qi Jiguang watched with great interest.

I don't know if the emperor had rehearsed it beforehand, but his speech, wording, and response were all very methodical.

Regardless of whether it is consistent with folk rumors, at least in Qi Jiguang's eyes, he is truly wise and intelligent, and a man of extraordinary talent.

Rather than being surprised, Qi Jiguang was more expectant.

Military affairs are ultimately a matter of national strength, involving food, administration, weapons, and systems.

An emperor who cares about state affairs can naturally provide incomparable help in military affairs.

He was full of vigor and ambition in his early years, but only in recent years did he gradually realize that whether the sea waves could be calmed and the Tatars could be destroyed was not up to the wishful thinking of these border generals, but depended on whether the person on the throne could do a good job.

Qi Jiguang observed the emperor silently, his mind full of thoughts.

The emperor talked to everyone one by one, and before he knew it, Qi Jiguang realized that he was the only one left in the hall.

Sure enough, the emperor on the throne turned to the last page and asked in the hall: "Where is Qi Jiguang, the chief military officer in charge of the four towns and the left commander-in-chief of the mountains and seas?"

Qi Jiguang hurriedly stepped out of the line and kneeled down subconsciously.

Then he remembered the instructions given by the guide today, and bowed to the ground: "Your Majesty, I, Qi Jiguang, pay my respects to you."

After the ceremony, Qi Jiguang suddenly saw the emperor stand up from the throne and slowly walk down the steps.

Just as he was wondering, he suddenly found his hands being grabbed.

Qi Jiguang was helped up in shock, and saw the emperor smiling at him, "Qi Qing, Tan Lun entrusted you to me with tears and blood, so I will not be estranged from you."

"Come on, I have two hundred thousand silver taels, which I will personally hand over to you as military pay."

(End of this chapter)