Chapter 88: Reward according to merit, estimate the difference

Wenhua Hall.

There was quite a bit of quarreling in the court today.

Even from far outside the hall, one could hear the intense noises coming from inside.

"Whether we agree to the Tatar barbarians or not, we still have to make the necessary preparations first." Shi Maohua, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, said in a deep voice.

As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Yi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, said indifferently, "Minister Shi, why don't you explain clearly how to make preparations in advance?"

"Liu Yingjie, the governor of Ji and Liao, has already deployed troops and deployed guards."

"Qi Jiguang, the governor of the four military training towns, has personally led his troops to resist the enemy and strictly prepare for war on the border."

"We won't have to draw troops from other towns, right? Could it be... that there is a shortage of money and food again?"

Liu Yingjie came from the Ministry of Revenue. After the Gengxu Rebellion, he took the initiative to volunteer to be transferred to the deputy envoy of military preparation, and later served as the governor of Liaodong, Henan, and governor-general of Ji and Liao. He can be said to be a steady veteran.

Qi Jiguang was a famous general with outstanding military achievements in the southeast. Previously, as a general, he was in charge of the generals, which was quite restrictive. After the cabinet proposed it and the emperor showed mercy, he was granted the title of governor-general of military training in the four towns.

Both of them are in high positions of power and are the best choices of the time. What else do they need to prepare?
It's nothing more than the Ministry of War setting its sights on the silver brought back by the Lianghuai Salt Inspection Team!

Shi Maohua's expression remained unchanged: "It's not necessary to transfer troops from other towns, but we can't save on recruiting soldiers."

"In addition to this, there are also food and grass bundles, which must also be prepared early."

"I am afraid that some people do not understand military affairs and only care about money, which will damage the border defense. If the Gengxu Rebellion occurs again, it will not be remedied by money."

Shi Maohua's words put a big hat on him and can be regarded as an attack.

Recently, the ministers have been arguing over the issue of inspecting salt and silver, and have been getting a little angry.

Fu Yi's face changed when he heard this.

About to speak.

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the imperial steps.

Seeing two young eunuchs carrying the throne up, the ministers understood immediately - the emperor was coming.

Zhang Juzheng immediately interrupted the argument.

"That's it."

"Five markets including Xichengfang are calling for the purchase of 1.2 million bundles of grass for border defense."

"Promote Dingzhou guerrilla Wang Zhiyu to be the garrison commander of Xifengkou, and recruit 2,000 soldiers."

Fu Yi glared at Shi Maohua and shut up angrily.

Soon, the little emperor appeared on the imperial steps.

Everyone saluted: "Your Majesty!"

When they stood up again after performing the ceremony, the expressions of all the officials changed at the same time.

But it was not because the emperor came to listen to government affairs, nor was it because the emperor did not follow the rules and did not cover the screen.

It was because there was an extra person sitting on a low stool below the imperial steps, where the ceremonial officer was located, and he was watching his nose and his heart.

Xu Jie!

How come this old man is back in the court?
All the officials' minds raced, and they frowned in thought.

Zhu Yijun took in the expressions of all the officials and found them interesting.

He looked at Zhang Juzheng and asked, "Prime Minister, are you discussing the affairs of Jibian?"

Zhang Juzheng stepped out and saluted: "Your Majesty, the Tuman Khan's invasion of the border must be taken seriously. We are just discussing a set of rules."

Zhu Yijun nodded: "How is the discussion going?"

Zhang Juzheng briefly summarized the topics discussed in the past few days: "My colleagues have some different opinions on the matter of Dong Huli sending people to exchange prisoners."

"Qi Jiguang and Liu Yingjie submitted a petition, hoping to get the soldiers back so that the soldiers can see the benevolence of the court and work hard."

"The Ministry of War is worried that this move will encourage the Tuman Khan to invade the border and plunder the people to make up for the shortage and exchange with our dynasty."

"The court is discussing this matter."

"As for Dong Huli's request for a reward, we dare not take the initiative and wait for your Majesty's decision."

There are some unfinished ideas that are difficult to express clearly.

The so-called looting of civilians to make up the numbers was actually a bigger worry that the prisoners would become a habit and eventually lead to peace talks.

You come to invade the border and steal money, and I come to earn military merit. After the deed is done, we exchange prisoners to settle the accounts. It's a win-win situation. This is something we have learned from experience.

Zhu Yijun seemed to be thinking about something.

However, he did not make a clear statement, but instead skipped the matter: "Prime Minister, we will discuss this matter later."

"I just met with Master Xu, and I learned about the difficulties and obstacles of this salt inspection. I am really shocked."

"Rewarding such meritorious officials cannot be delayed."

"Have the Ministry of Personnel and the Cabinet come to an agreement on the rewards for the meritorious officials this time?"

Zhang Juzheng glanced at Xu Jie who was attending the court meeting and immediately understood the emperor's decision.

I couldn't help but feel relieved.

He turned to Shen Shixing and signaled him to answer.

Shen Shixing understood what he meant and stepped out to say, "Your Majesty, this matter has been reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel and the censors, and is about to be discussed in the court."

"Among them, the Right Censor-in-Chief Hai Rui and the Right Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple Chen Dong..."

He glanced at Xu Jie, who was sitting on the low stool, and guessed the emperor's intentions, and added another person: "There is also Xu Jie, the former Grand Secretary and Junior Tutor of Zhongji Hall."

"These three people made the greatest contribution."

"The rest, such as Jiao Ze, Gu Chengguang, etc., are ranked second."

"Among them, Hai Rui is proposed to be promoted to Left Assistant Censor-in-Chief, and his term of office will be reduced by two years."

"Chen Dong is proposed to be promoted to the Left Junior Minister of the Dali Temple, and one year of probation will be reduced."

"As for Master Xu... he holds a high position and has a high salary, so it is still up to Your Majesty to decide."

The emperor had not previously expressed his opinion on how to deal with Xu Jie.

You can't be discussing how to reward someone and then abandon him the next.

To take a step back, even if Xu Jie were to be rewarded, it would be difficult to do so due to his special status. We couldn't really give him real power and make his colleagues uncomfortable when he entered the court, right?
Zhu Yijun nodded. The reward was in accordance with the rules and regulations and did not surprise him.

The main reason is that he has offended too many people. He was originally trying to get to the top by stepping on others, and now he wants to be rewarded lavishly, which is a thankless task.

But for Zhu Yijun, this was a bit of a neglect of his meritorious officials.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "What Mr. Shen said just now is in accordance with the rules and is complete. I will follow your advice."

At this point, he changed the subject: "However, in addition to the official reward, I also have some feelings to express, otherwise you will say that I am harsh to my good ministers."

"I will also grant Chen Dong the right to rent a house outside Donghua Gate, waive the rent, and allow him to bring his wife and children with him, and allow his two sons to enter the Imperial Academy."

Zhu Yijun heard that Chen Dong's father was a mentally ill man who used all his son's salary for his own entertainment and often whipped and made him kneel, which was a disgrace to the country.

But it's a family matter and outsiders can't interfere.

Now that there is an excuse for a reward, instead of doing something fancy, it is better to give him an excuse to take the kids to school and move out by yourself.

Shen Shixing did not understand the emperor's intentions and thought it was just a favor, so he accepted it respectfully.

Zhu Yijun continued, "As for Hai Rui's lack of descendants, it would be difficult to pass down his influence to his relatives..."

He pretended to be silent for a moment, then reluctantly said, "Just grant me the same status as a Jinshi!"

Shen Shixing was subconsciously ready to agree, but when he came to his senses he looked up in surprise.

Hai Rui was well known for his humble origins.

For a person who was born as a juren, it can be said that the highest rank he could achieve was a seventh-rank official.

However, relying on his high reputation as a clean official and his indestructible golden body, he fought his way up to the rank of Censor-in-Chief of the Fourth Grade, which was a rare event in the dynasty.

If you want to move up to the third rank, you will become a formal court official, in a position to influence the world situation. Without a Jinshi degree, it is impossible to be granted this position.

Now the emperor granted him the same status as a Jinshi in a blink of an eye.

This is paving the way for Hai Rui!
The ministers looked at each other, their eyes full of resistance.

The emperor relied on Gao Gong to retire and forced everyone to reinstate Hai Rui, but this was already the limit.

Do you still want this stubborn ass to join the cabinet? ?
How could this be possible! Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Rites, stepped out first and said, "Your Majesty, Jinshi are selected through the palace examination. How can they be awarded based on their merits?"

"Even if this happened in our dynasty, it was only awarded posthumously. I have never seen anyone being awarded the title of Jinshi while still alive!"

"This is not only unfair to the candidates, but also undermines the imperial examination system!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice and don't break the laws of our ancestors!"

Zhu Yijun explained in a gentle voice: "Mr. Zhang, you don't know that although this incident is rare in our dynasty, it is common in history."

"Didn't Lu You, Lu Fangweng, receive the title of Jinshi granted by Emperor Xiaozong of Song?"

He explained in a friendly manner on the surface, but he was sneering in his heart.

What ancestral laws are just excuses.

Being granted the status of a Jinshi is really not a big deal.

Didn't the Wanli Emperor in history look like this? In the intercalary April of the 46th year of the Wanli reign, students were granted the title of Juren, and Juren were granted the title of Jinshi?

But a group of people were given the gift, so why isn’t anyone talking about it?
After all, it was just that Hai Rui was not well-liked and was excluded by the court officials.

Wang Zhigao, the Minister of Justice, stepped out with a stern face and said, "Your Majesty, the previous dynasty was the previous dynasty, and this dynasty is this dynasty."

"The selection of Jinshi is a great ceremony of the country. How can it be easily disrupted?"

Because of the incident in Nanzhili, his son was exiled three thousand miles away, so naturally he would not have a good impression of Hai Rui.

Li Youzi, who had just been promoted from the Left Junior Minister of the Dali Temple to the Minister of the Guanglu Temple, also stepped out and echoed: "Your Majesty, if the number of Jinshi is too high, it will flood the country and cause disasters. I am afraid it will lead to great disasters."

Afterwards, seven or eight people including Right Censor-in-Chief Huo Ji, Vice Minister of Rites Ma Ziqiang, and Chief Censor of the Ministry of Revenue Cai Ruxian all came out to echo to varying degrees.

Zhu Yijun looked at these court officials quietly.

Among them were those who were against Hai Rui, and those who were simply afraid that the emperor would disrupt the examination process.

He had thought that there would be a lot of resistance before, but he didn't expect it to be so great.

He glanced at Zhang Juzheng, who had an expressionless face.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. The cabinet probably didn't want to see Hai Rui climb to the third rank or above, as that was already the threshold for entering the cabinet.

Shen Shixing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, looked around at the attitudes of his colleagues and made up his mind. He immediately stepped out and advised, "Your Majesty, why not give the position to the ancestors of Hai Yushi's parents?"

Zhu Yijun did not comment.

At this moment, Li Zaiting, the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, also stepped forward.

He righteously advised: "Your Majesty, I also think that granting the same status as a Jinshi is somewhat inconsistent with the ancestral system and may undermine the imperial examination system."

"I suggest that we follow the example of Yan Shu and allow Hai Rui to participate in the imperial examination next spring!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yijun spoke immediately, not giving anyone a chance to interrupt.

He loudly blamed himself, "You all are right. To be a Jinshi is based on one's talent and learning, and should not be awarded lightly."

"Then let's follow Li Qing's wishes and let him take part in the palace examination next spring."

"From now on, it will depend on his talent and learning."

All the ministers glared at Li Zaiting.

What kind of advice is this? I won't be dismissed from the palace examination!
Previously, Zhang Yuan of the Song Dynasty was dismissed in the palace examination, defected to Western Xia, and was directly granted the position of prime minister.

Then he led the Western Xia directly and beat the former Song Dynasty into submission. In the Battle of Haoshuichuan alone, more than ten thousand people were killed. After the war, he wrote a poem to mock the Song Dynasty, signing it "Grand Tutor, Minister of the Chancellery, and concurrently Minister of the Central Secretariat Zhang Yuan accompanied the emperor here", which made the Song court so angry that it lost its appetite.

With this example in mind, everyone understands that it is best not to let capable people feel that their talents are not appreciated. If there are too many people like this, there will be trouble.

Henceforth, in the palace examinations from then on, candidates would only be ranked according to their order, with no more exclusion.

Li Zaiting's proposal was still to grant Hai Rui the status of a Jinshi, but he just legalized the process.

Even when the court officials said that the procedures were not in compliance with regulations, it seemed like the emperor was deliberately fishing for trouble.

The Imperial Censor Ge Shouli stepped forward to echo: "Your Majesty is wise and wise!"

Tongzhengshi He Yongqing, Youshilang Wen Chun and others also saluted and expressed their agreement.

At this time, the cabinet had to express its position.

Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a while, then said, "Your Majesty, Hai Rui has certainly made contributions, but since the Ministry of Personnel has already given him an official reward, wouldn't it be a bit too much to grant him a palace examination?"

He and Hai Rui really don't get along.

Temperament is one aspect, but the main issue is the difference in political views.

Zhang Juzheng was afraid that this kind of people with good reputations and who did things without leaving any room for maneuver would enter the central government and disrupt affairs.

Regarding the incident in Nanzhili, it was heard that Gao Gong wanted to step forward to share the emperor's worries, but was stopped by Hai Rui.

He saw it all, and understood in his heart that for Hai Rui, the overall situation of the Ming Dynasty was not taken into account at all. In this man's eyes, there were only the emperor and the people.

People with this kind of temperament cannot reconcile yin and yang and are not suitable to serve in the central government. Standing on the emperor's side will only worsen the relationship between officials and the emperor.

The emperor had not spoken yet.

Xu Jie, who was sitting on a low stool below the imperial steps, stood up abruptly and said, "Prime Minister, you don't know."

"Hai Rui was the main contributor to the Nanzhili case this time. An old man like me didn't contribute at all."

This was to give credit to Hai Rui. Now that he was pleasing the emperor, he did not have to worry about being unable to advance to a higher position.

The court officials all looked at Xu Jie.

Many people couldn't help but glance at the emperor.

Come again?

If he didn't allow Hai Rui to receive the credit, was he planning to use Xu Jie's return to the court to threaten everyone?

Zhang Juzheng was also stunned.

Although he was a teacher, he didn't want Xu Jie to return to the court.

At this time, Zhu Yijun finally spoke: "Prime Minister, it is difficult for the Censorate to make achievements, and it will be even more so in the future. I cannot bear to treat important officials harshly, so I am showing some mercy now to show my appreciation."

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng's expression brightened slightly.

It is of course false that it is difficult to achieve merit in the Censorate.

The emperor was telling him that he had no intention of letting Hai Rui join the cabinet, but was paving the way for Hai Rui to get the position of Chief Censor.

If that's the case...it's still acceptable.

The Censorate was the best place for Hai Rui.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng bowed and said: "Your Majesty has thought it through, it is I who am not worthy."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

Once the cabinet agrees, things will be easy.

"That's it, then."

"By the way, Mr. Xu Jie, I will keep him in Beijing for your reference, and I will also appoint Mr. Xu Fan as the Minister of the Imperial Treasure Department."

Shen Shixing waited for a while and seeing that no one else was arguing against the emperor, he bowed in response.

After saying this, he looked around the hall.

Zhu Yijun paused and said, "Where is Yang Bo and Yang Qing? Did he come to the morning court today?"

Zhang Juzheng replied, "Mr. Yang's illness has worsened and he is no longer able to get up. He has not entered the palace since he submitted his resignation petition a few days ago."

Zhu Yijun sighed: "Another important minister is leaving me."

He instructed Zhang Hong standing by his side: "Let the Imperial Hospital take a look. If the disease is incurable, please approve his retirement petition on my behalf."

"By the way, if you want to go back to your hometown in Shanxi, please let the imperial physician Wang Wenli and Song Zhaohe take care of you, otherwise I will be worried."

When he was giving this order, he saw Zhang Siwei out of the corner of his eye, and he looked uncontrollably excited.

He shook his head secretly in his heart.

He collected his thoughts a little and talked about business: "Let's talk about Tuman Khan."

At this time, Zhu Yijun finally turned his gaze to the Minister of War, Wang Chonggu, who had not said a word during the first court meeting today.

He asked, "Does Lord Wang have any suggestions on this?"

(End of this chapter)