Chapter 409 408 Holiday

At this time, in the lobby of the Ministry of War, the ministers, ministers and chief officers from various ministries gathered together and discussed where to mobilize troops. In the side hall, Yang Bo, the minister of the Ministry of War, and the two ministers were discussing strategies to suppress thieves. and selected generals.

Now the Ministry of War has to plan for the worst case scenario, that is, to establish two sets of command systems in Fujian to command the suppression of bandits and the control of Japanese pirates.

“I still don’t think it’s appropriate that you propose to select generals from Jiubian to go to Fujian.

It is true that there are many generals in the Ming Dynasty in Jiubian, but their combat environment is completely different from that in the south. Due to the complex terrain conditions there, personal bravery cannot be used, and they will be acclimatized. "

Yang Bo said to the two people below.

There had been discussions before about appointing a general to take charge of unified command of the army to suppress bandits. Therefore, the slightly famous generals in the south had already been deployed to Zhejiang and other places to guard against Japanese pirates. There were no suitable generals available for deployment.

Yang Bo mentioned someone before, but he was opposed, not because of his place of origin, but because this person had just taken office and was not suitable to be transferred again in such a short period of time.

Yes, the person Yang Bo was thinking of was Yu Dayou, who had already arrived in Guizhou.

Although Yu Dayou was from Fujian, the imperial court actually paid more attention to civilian officials in terms of employment. Civilian officials would not be easily sent back to serve in their provinces. Although military generals also had such considerations, there was not so much resistance in actual execution. .

Like Yu Dayou, given his current position as a staff general, there are actually not many people who object to being transferred back to Fujian. It is only when he reaches the level of the general soldier that there are more objections.

While officials from the Ministry of War were discussing how to respond to the situation in Fujian, Emperor Jiajing in the Yongshou Palace in Xiyuan was also getting angry.

The cabinet and the Supervisor of Ceremonies did not deliberately block the time for the Fujian memorial to be submitted, but the document did not arrive until the afternoon. The cabinet dealt with it urgently and sent it to the palace.

Naturally, the Chief of Ceremonies did not dare to delay. This was something Emperor Jiajing knew, and no one had the guts to suppress it. It was just Emperor Jiajing's habit of working. Unless Anda Khan was beaten under the walls of the capital, he would have to wait for the emperor to kill him. I have to finish all the homework I need to do today.

"Deploy troops and generals to destroy them as soon as possible, haha"

Emperor Jiajing had a habit of not getting angry when he was extremely angry. Instead, he would often sneer, but in the eyes of people around him, this was more frightening than the devil's smile.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing gently repeated the last two sentences of the cabinet vote.

"If you criticize the Red Army, let Hu Zongxian dispatch troops and generals to exterminate the rebels."

Emperor Jiajing had already put away his unsettling smile at this time, and still chose to trust the judgment of the cabinet, instead of sending someone to open the palace door with a sign in the middle of the night and summon the cabinet ministers and the Minister of War.

From the perspective of the surrounding eunuchs and servants, it seemed that this was Emperor Jiajing's trust in his cabinet ministers, and he obeyed their votes. However, among the people present, only Huang Jin, who had been with Emperor Jiajing for the longest time, seemed to see a clue. , even Gao Zhong only thought it was a choice made by the emperor after his anger.

Sighing in his heart, Huang Jin didn't say anything. He didn't even wink at Gao Zhong until Gao Zhong took the memorial that he had handled tonight with his chamberlain.

"I'm going to bed."

Just as Huang Jin was standing, Emperor Jiajing suddenly stood up and walked to the palace, saying something in his mouth.

"Hurry up, keep up."

Huang Jin came back to his senses and hurriedly waved to the two chamberlains beside him. The three of them hurried away behind Emperor Jiajing. But when he was about to walk through the palace gate, he looked back at the empty hall. , looked so gloomy under the flickering candlelight.

When a new day came, hundreds of officials arrived at the official office one after another. Many officials were waiting for Xiyuan's chamberlain to come and summon the officials of various departments. However, half a day passed and no angel from the palace came.

But soon, the official roadside news agency spread the news. The palace approved and approved the cabinet vote. The official document has been sent to the Ministry of War. The task of annihilating the rebels fell to the Japanese Governor-General Hu Zongxian. After all, Now he has command of almost all the troops along the coast.

As the New Year approaches, the streets and alleys of Beijing begin to fill with a strong New Year flavor. Walking on the streets, you can hear the sound of children setting off firecrackers from time to time.

On this day, after Wei Guangde arrived at Prince Yu's Mansion, he soon learned from Yin Shizhen that Qin Tianjian had sent someone to notify him that the seal would be sealed on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.

In previous years, it was two days before Zhengdan, but this year it was indeed one day earlier.

Under Wei Guangde's puzzled gaze, Yin Shizhen said with a smile: "I heard that those two days were not auspicious, so I moved it one day earlier."

"Oh, that's it, haha. Is it still the third day of the first lunar month to open the seal?"

Wei Guangde smiled and said casually.

"Um"

Yin Shizhen also nodded with a smile.

It's a good thing to have an extra day. The Ming Dynasty's holidays are much less than those in the previous Dynasty. I don't know if the people in Qintian Prison also want to be lazy and actually set this time.

"Your Majesty will not attend the DPRK meeting."

At this time, Yin Shizhen spoke to Wei Guangde again.

"I guessed it already."

Wei Guangde just chuckled, "Who is the foreman this year?"

"Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Chengguo."

Yin Shizhen smiled.

On the first day of the great dynasty meeting, Emperor Jiajing did not go to the palace, but ordered Duke Zhu Xizhong to lead the civil and military ministers to pay homage five times and kowtow three times at the dynasty gate.

Since the 21st year of Jiajing's reign, Emperor Jiajing has no longer been in court, and a sentence said to be attributed to him is still circulating in the official circles of the capital.

"What's the use of sitting in the court?"

In fact, few official affairs of the Ming Dynasty were decided at the court meeting. Reporting there was just a formality. In fact, everything had been decided. At the court meeting, it was just an announcement.

However, Wei Guangde still felt in his heart that he could skip the ordinary court meetings, but the grand court meetings should still be held in the palace, after all, it was a ceremony.

Calculating the time, there were only a few days left.

He stayed in Prince Yu's mansion for a day, and Prince Yu held a banquet in the evening. However, when the banquet ended, Wei Guangde's carriage was already piled with various rewards from the palace.

In the next few days, Wei Guangde did not have to come to Prince Yu's mansion every day, or Prince Yu had a winter vacation in advance.

A few days later, Wei Guangde returned to the Hanlin Academy.

He was on duty in the Hanlin Academy, and Wei Guangde had to come back every three or five days to find some archives, so Lu Bu stayed here to look after it, either looking for information in the library according to Wei Guangde's instructions, or helping to sort it out.

Soon, it was the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, which was the day when all government offices sealed their seals.

In fact, it was not only the government offices in the capital that followed this order, but also the government offices in all places, or more precisely, the government offices of the entire Ming Dynasty, that had to be sealed and stopped working on this day.

Of course, this was aimed at those idle government offices in the capital, the local provincial governments and the provincial judicial offices, but not the military-related government offices such as the military command offices.

During the period from sealing to opening the seal, officials from the capital to the local areas could rest and have fun freely, but things were not absolute. If the government offices encountered an emergency and needed to activate the seal during the sealing period, they would still take it out and use it, and work normally.

And those key departments in the capital could not just seal for a few days and not care about anything. Important matters related to military and national affairs must be reported to the emperor in a timely manner together with various departments for urgent handling.

There is a folk legend that whenever the government seals and closes the office, the gangsters on the street will go out and do whatever they want without anyone managing them. In fact, this is just hearsay or assumption.

For example, the six ministries and five temples in the capital, as well as the Yingtianfu, Wanping and Daxing county offices, will also be sealed and closed on this day, but they will only say that they will no longer be open for business.

Offices such as the Wucheng Bingmasi, which are responsible for patrolling thieves in the capital, clearing the streets and ditches, prisoners, and fire bans, as well as the yamen runners of one prefecture and two counties, will be sent to the streets to maintain order.

Of course, the gangsters caught can only be thrown into the prison, and the case will be handled by the yamen's master after the "seal is opened".

For catching these gangsters who have been idle in the past, both patrol soldiers and prefecture and county yamen runners are still very concerned.

People are caught, but there is no master to ask, and those who can give benefits to filial piety do not have to spend the New Year in the prison, but can leave early, anyway, no one will care at that time.

As for those hooligans with powerful backgrounds, who have been doing all kinds of evil in the past and are not afraid of the government, they will naturally not make trouble during the two days of the New Year. On the contrary, they are the quietest during these days, because they also have to celebrate the New Year and pay respect to the people behind them.

Therefore, the days around the New Year to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month are the safest time, and the people can go out to play without worry.

"Sealing" and "opening the seal" are important matters in the government office. According to the rules, a grand ceremony will be held on these two days. At that time, the government office will be decorated with lights and colors, and officials will wear formal official uniforms and perform great ceremonies.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng both participated in the sealing ceremony in the Hanlin Academy. They are now the sixth-rank attendants of the Hanlin Academy. Above them, only the Hanlin Bachelor and four attendants and attendants can stand in the front row of the Hanlin Academy.

The person who presided over the ceremony today is Yuan Wei, who is already the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. He is in charge of the Hanlin Academy as an attendant, so today's Hanlin Academy sealing ceremony can only be presided over by him.

Yin Shizhan was not in the Hanlin Academy. Although he was also a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, he was still a horse-washer in the Jingju Bureau of the Zhanshi Mansion.

At the time of Si, all the officials in the Hanlin Academy stood in line in front of the lobby according to their ranks. Yuan Wei, the lecturer standing in the front, held a mahogany tray in both hands. On the tray was the seal of the Hanlin Academy held by the president of the Hanlin Academy. In a solemn atmosphere, Yuan Wei slowly walked to the incense table that had been placed in the lobby and presented the seal.

After placing the seal, Yuan Wei did not return to the first place in the queue, but took incense from the side and lit it, respectfully inserted it into the incense burner, stepped back two steps to kneel, and then stepped aside.

In the light smoke, the officials of the Hanlin Academy came forward one by one to light incense and kneel, and soon the incense burner was filled with incense lit by everyone.

When the last official completed the ceremony, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other, naturally stepped forward two steps, and congratulated the president Yuan Wei on the "seal".

Although Yuan Wei had just taken over the Hanlin Academy a few days ago, the sealing ceremony was presided over by him, which naturally meant that he had successfully completed the official duties of the Hanlin Academy this year, which was of course a cause for celebration.

"Thank you for your hard work, Dean."

"You have worked hard and made great contributions, and this year is finally a success."

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng were both congratulating Yuan Wei at this moment, saying festive words wishing the master a rapid rise, which naturally made Yuan Wei very happy.

At this time, Yuan Wei also behaved very easily, and smiled and bowed to them in return, "Let's encourage each other."

In fact, Yuan Wei now also feels that after so many years of hard work, it seems that the excellent Qingci works he presented last year and this year have finally impressed Emperor Jiajing. His career should usher in a major turn, and moving the Ministry of Etiquette from the Hanlin Academy is an important step. signal, so I was filled with joy when I heard that Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng were "rising straight up" and "promoting step by step".

Regarding the dispute between King Yu and King Jing, Yuan Wei chose neutrality and stayed away from both sides.

However, after Prince Yu's status was confirmed, the two people in Prince Yu's palace were still very respectful to him, which naturally made Yuan Wei feel a little elated.

This year he is the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. If he can move to the Ministry of Personnel and serve as a minister next year, the door to the cabinet will be completely open for him. Even Prince Yu will have to give him some dignity.

In any case, King Yu only confirmed his status, but Emperor Jiajing had no intention of making him the prince.

The status of the prince and the prince are obviously very different.

It's just that Yuan Wei still has to be polite to the people in Prince Yu's Mansion. He is not a snob. He knows that if he can make friends with the people in Prince Yu's Mansion, he must not offend them.

After Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, other Hanlin officials rushed up to congratulate Yuan Wei, the president, and then congratulated each other. At this time, the officials outside the hall had already begun to set off firecrackers to celebrate the seal, making it look like the Chinese New Year. .

"Crack crack crack."

Amidst the piercing sound of firecrackers, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng held hands with each other and walked to the entrance of the lobby. They looked at the lightning bolts dancing wildly and red flakes flying outside the hall. The surrounding officials covered their ears and hid aside, while some were clapping their hands and shouting something.

Not long after, the crackling of firecrackers sounded on the wall next door, and then there was smoke rising from the government office further away.

At this moment, government offices across the Ming Dynasty held "sealing" ceremonies at this time, and the sound of firecrackers resounded throughout the Ming Dynasty.

"I don't know if the officials in Fujian are the same as me and other new districts."

Wei Guangde opened his mouth slightly, showed a smile, and said loudly to Zhang Juzheng next to him.

The sound of the firecrackers was a bit loud, and Zhang Juzheng couldn't hear the words clearly at all.

"Haha, probably not."

Zhang Juzheng's voice was not loud, but he shook his head and said to Wei Guangde.

It was a bit noisy, so Wei Guangde did not continue talking to Zhang Juzheng, but waited for the firecrackers to burn out before continuing.

Sealing the yamen does not mean that they have a holiday. They can go back to their respective homes. Because there are still activities later, they just stand at the door and wait.

"When do you plan to go to Mr. Xu Ge's residence?"

After the firecrackers burned out outside the hall, Wei Guangde came close to Zhang Juzheng and whispered in his ear.

Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed after hearing Wei Guangde's words, and then he smiled and said to Wei Guangde: "Tomorrow I plan to visit the teacher and give him some New Year gifts during the Chinese New Year."

"I also plan to go to Mr. Xu Ge's mansion tomorrow."