Chapter 620 Chapter 619 The Imperial Feast

"It was fine in January. After I was discharged last month, I started to select beauties in the palace and asked people like Meng Chong to help with the arrangement. Eunuch Li tried to persuade her several times and was punished by His Majesty.

In addition, the emperor also likes gadgets, which were purchased by Teng Xiang and Meng Chong. The previous purchase of jewelry was also their idea, but there was not much money in the internal treasury, and he wanted to get some money from the court. . "

Chen Ju sighed and said.

He didn't think it before when he was in Prince Yu's Mansion, but now that Prince Yu became emperor, he realized that compared with Emperor Jiajing, Emperor Longqing's moral character was really not that bad.

"So, His Majesty became obsessed with beauty soon after entering the palace?"

Wei Guangde was frowning now. He did not expect that the change of status from Prince Yu to Emperor Longqing would also completely change his whole person, making him feel a little strange.

I used to be lustful when I was King Yu, but I still knew what I should do, but now?

He couldn't help but think of Liang Dian, an old eunuch who went to Nanjing, who actually said that, "having an old man in the family is like having a treasure."

None of them noticed it, but they discovered it early and decisively exited the vortex.

Chen Ju lowered his head at this time, not knowing what he was thinking.

Regarding Wei Guangde's questions, it is better to remain silent.

"Where is the Queen? The Queen didn't say anything to the Emperor?"

Wei Guangde remembered that Princess Chen was a very knowledgeable and reasonable person. Faced with the emperor's current situation, she should not sit idly by and ignore it.

"My Majesty has tried to persuade me, but it has no effect. Your Majesty has not been to Kunning Palace for a while."

Unexpectedly, Chen Ju said it very directly.

If His Majesty doesn't go to Kunning Palace and rest with the Queen, where else can he go?

Wei Guangde sat up straight and was really surprised at this time.

In fact, when she was in the palace earlier, Princess Chen had advised Emperor Longqing not to injure his body due to excessive indulgence. At that time, I didn't know if there was an emperor above me, but it seemed that he was more willing to listen to the advice.

Now that I have really turned over, I can’t listen to anyone else’s words.

"Are you here while His Majesty is processing the memorial?"

"Why do you ask?"

Facing Wei Guangde's continuous questioning, Chen Ju asked in surprise.

"First tell me how His Majesty approved the memorial."

It was impossible for Wei Guangde to tell Chen Ju that he wanted to know how much influence the outer court had on the emperor.

The previous Emperor Longqing listened to people like them very much. He didn't just listen blindly, but he could think before making a decision.

Now that the emperor has obviously changed, Wei Guangde also needs to grasp the emperor's current status in time, so that he will know how to communicate next time when he writes a memorial or talks about something.

"The emperor's review of memorials is not much different from that of the late emperor. If there is any, it is that except for memorials directed at old members of the palace, they generally choose to use the votes of the cabinet."

"What do you mean? Are you saying that most of His Majesty's review of the memorial still agrees with the cabinet's vote? It's just that the memorial involves Gao Gong and other members of the royal family, so he has his own opinions?"

"Yes, I'm afraid Gao Ge doesn't even know how many memorials have been filed to impeach him."

"Why is this so?"

"For the impeachment of the Sixth Section, if you want to create a certain momentum in the court, you will go to the Political Envoy Department. Otherwise, it will be sent directly to the Chief of Ceremonies and delivered to the hands of the emperor."

"I know this. I'm surprised why Ke Dao focused his fire on Gao Gong. Gao Gong didn't do anything to offend Ke Dao before."

When Wei Guangde said this, he also fell into memories. He wanted to know where the feud between Ke Dao and Gao Gong began, and why he had no memory at all.

"Tsk tsk. Shandai, have you forgotten what Yan Shifan said back then, 'It is said that the world's most talented people are only three of them, Lu Bing and Yang Bo'?"

Chen Ju smiled in surprise.

"Three talented men?"

Of course he had heard what Yan Shifan said about the three greatest talents in the world, namely himself, Lu Bing and Yang Bo. Now that they have gone, only Yang Bo is still in the court.

The Minister of Civil Affairs is his immediate superior.

"You mean between Yang Bo and Ke Dao?"

Wei Guangde seemed to remember that this was what happened. It was last year when Emperor Jiajing was in power. Ke Dao was similar to now for a while, catching Yang Bo and biting him, and constantly impeached him.

The cause of the incident was that after the Beijing inspection, Ke Dao discovered that many people had been demoted, but none of them were officials from Shanxi.

Naturally, they thought of Yang Bo, the official in charge of the Beijing inspection, who was from Shanxi.

"At that time, Hu Yingjia, who was a member of the civil service department, also participated in the impeachment of Yang Bo. You should also know what happened later."

After starting, Chen Ju stopped talking.

Of course Wei Guangde knew about this. The cabinet saw that the commotion was really serious, so Gao Gong came out to make peace.

As for what Gao Gong said about Hu Yingjia at the time, that was naturally Hu Yingjia's biggest mistake. As officials, they were supposed to have a supervisory role when they were inspecting the capital, but they failed to do so, so this happened.

What else could Hu Yingjia say?

If Yang Bo really used the Beijing police to practice favoritism and cover up Shanxi officials, then their officials would naturally be to blame.

It can only be said that Hu Yingjia was a little complacent at this time and forgot that others could impeach this matter, but the official department could not interfere.

Because of Gao Gong's words, Ke Dao's impeachment of Yang Bo ended here. Gao Gong probably didn't expect that he would be resented by the people of the Sixth Section for this.

"Moreover, the situation before the cabinet was widely spread in the court and the public. Gao Gong was arrogant and self-willed. He had no respect for Xu Ge Lao, who recommended him to the cabinet. Instead, he made things difficult for him. If he offended him, he would argue with him."

Chen Ju was about to say more, but Wei Guangde had already waved his hand.

Of course, he had heard those private words, which was also the reason why many people in Prince Yu's Mansion were dissatisfied with Gao Gong.

"So, Xu Ge Lao has gathered a large group of people who don't like Gao Gong, and they are planning to bring Gao Gong down directly."

Chen Ju must have known what he said, and there were more people who saw it.

Even if there were people in the court who had nothing to do with Gao Gong, they would probably jump out and step on Gao Gong at this time, hoping to attract the attention of the Prime Minister Xu Jie, and perhaps have a chance to rise to prominence.

As for why only the Kedao were impeaching now, and no one else was involved in this matter, it should be because they still couldn't figure out the mind of Emperor Longqing, so they kept their troops on the sidelines.

However, once opposing Gao Gong became a consensus between the court and the opposition and became politically correct, I am afraid that not many people would care about the emperor's feelings.

Hu Yingjia's action this time should be a secret agreement with Xu Jie, and Xu Jie should be pushing it behind the scenes.

Wei Guangde thought so in his heart.

However, Gao Gong, who is a junior, is arrogant and domineering. It is really unbearable to be so ignorant.

Chen Ju rarely came out of the palace. He and Wei Guangde soon sat in the banquet and drank happily. When he was drunk, he was sent to the guest room to rest by the servants of Wei Mansion.

However, Wei Guangde felt pressured, so he did not go back to the backyard to rest, but sat in the study alone to think.

What he thought about was naturally what would happen to the court after Gao Gong's fall?

He had this guess during the day. Although he was not sure whether Xu Jie was involved in this matter, at present, Wei Guangde would rather believe that Xu and Hu should have reached a deal.

If Gao Gong was really forced out, there would be only five people left in the cabinet. Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng would definitely be in one faction, and the other three would each be in their own faction.

Chen Yiqin would definitely side with the emperor, and Li Chunfang was just a decoration, indecisive and only following the rules. What about Guo Pu?

With Gao Gong, Guo Pu could still unite with Gao Gong to fight against Xu Jie.

If Gao Gong fell, Guo Pu would most likely have to keep his tail between his legs.

Well, with Chen Yiqin and Zhang Juzheng in the cabinet, I think my life should still be pretty good.

Wei Guangde could only think so now, and it was obvious that he didn't think Gao Gong could escape Xu Jie's plan.

In this battle, Gao Gong would definitely lose.

According to Chen Ju, Emperor Longqing did not reject the impeachment memorials from Nanjing, and kept them all in the palace, and was too lazy to take them back for people to read.

In this way, it was a bit like trying to keep things quiet.

As for Gao Gong, Emperor Longqing would naturally not let him rest at home.

The next day, an imperial edict was issued to let Gao Gong return to the cabinet to work, and he comforted him with kind words, without mentioning the impeachment.

However, at this time, the Emperor Jiajing's funeral was approaching, and the officials in the court were also attracted by this matter, and seemed to put the impeachment aside for the time being.

After the manuscript was handed over, the people in the Proofreading Office also went their separate ways and returned to their respective offices.

Wei Guangde reported to the Ministry of Personnel for the first time, and then he was greeted by fasting.

The Taichang Temple had sent a letter to the six ministries and various offices in Beijing, asking civil and military officials to stay in their own offices and fast for three days. Slaughtering was prohibited inside and outside the capital until the funeral was completed, and music was prohibited until the temple was enshrined.

Three days later, there were two consecutive days of mourning. Wei Guangde followed the crowd. Now it was just the beginning. Later, he, a third-rank civil servant, would follow to Yongling.

All officials in Beijing had to be present before the funeral, which was really a grand event, even far exceeding the scale of the grand court meeting.

The journey started on the 11th, and the arrival at Yongling on the 17th. All the ceremonies were completed on the 22nd. It can be said that for more than half a month in March, the court was revolving around the burial of Emperor Shizong Su.

Only civil officials above the fifth rank and military officials above the fourth rank went to Yongling with him. Most officials stayed in the capital, at least to ensure the basic operation of the court.

Of course, a lot of official business was delayed.

After the burial of Emperor Shizong Su, the court had completed a major event and could finally get back on track.

During this period, Wei Guangde also began to learn the operating model of the Ministry of Personnel. For low-ranking officials, most of them were selected by the subordinates based on the investigation, and the final submission was handed over to him. For officials of the fifth and sixth ranks, most of them had to be discussed by the chief officials of the Ministry of Personnel before they could decide.

Compared with the previous job in the School Record Office, the current life is undoubtedly much easier.

After more contact with Yang Bo and seeing many official documents of the Ministry of Personnel, Wei Guangde gradually agreed with the initial words of the group of Kedao, that Yang Bo did favor the Shanxi officials.

But this is all in the past. Yang Bo has paid more attention to his work now, so he will not make a big deal like last year.

Wei Guangde just watched these actions coldly and made a note of them in his heart.

After the storms of the past two years, Wei Guangde will not let things go as he did before. He will keep all the evidence he finds separately so that he can use it at any time in the future.

Of course, the premise is that he and Yang Bo have a falling out.

In a blink of an eye, it was April, the day when Emperor Longqing lectured.

Before that, the emperor had issued an edict to grant the lecture, saying: I believe that the way for the emperor to cultivate himself and govern the country is in the classics and history, so I must explain it clearly, without doubt, so that it can be promoted and put into practice, and follow the laws of my ancestors.

The Emperor held a lecture on the classics, and ordered Er Xi Zhongjie to be in charge of the lecture, Chun Fang Pu Gong Yi Qin Ju Zheng to be the co-director of the lecture, Zhao Zhenji, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the academician of the Hanlin Academy, Wei Guangde, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Rites and the academician of the Hanlin Academy, Pan Sheng, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites and the academician of the Hanlin Academy.

For the first lecture on the classics in the Longqing Dynasty, although it was held again after many years, in fact, the symbolic significance was greater than the practical significance, but it was just to convey to the world the image of an emperor who was knowledgeable and inquisitive.

However, what Wei Guangde did not expect was that after the lecture, Emperor Longqing gave a banquet at Huiji Gate, and gave the co-director of the lecture, the minister of the lecture, and the deacon of the lecture and exhibition of books and other officials, and another wonderful scene happened in front of him.

During the banquet, Gao Gong confronted Xu Jie and said, "Recently, I often can't sleep at night and get up with my sword in hand. Thinking of what you have done in the past few months since your majesty ascended the throne, I feel upset.

When the previous emperor was in power, Xu Gong wrote countless poems to curry favor with the previous emperor.

As soon as the previous emperor passed away, you immediately changed your attitude and drafted the "Last Will" to slander his deeds.

I remember that you supported all those things, didn't you?

Now, you are making friends with people and are bound to expel the old officials of Yu Mansion. You are really capable of doing these things!"

Hearing that Gao Gong actually said such words at the imperial banquet, Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and others beside him looked embarrassed at the time.

According to convention, the fights in the cabinet will only be carried out in the cabinet, and even if there are some small actions, they will never be talked about in such a public place.

Wei Guangde also frowned as he looked at Gao Gong who was talking over there, not understanding whether he was drunk or what, and actually brought up the matter of the fasting and offering sacrifices in the past.

Being accused so sharply, Xu Jie pondered for a long time before slowly answering: "Mr. Gao's words are a big mistake.

You said that I made friends with many people, but there are many people who speak out, how can they be manipulated so easily? How can you instigate them to attack you?

If it is really that easy, I can make friends with many people, so can't you?

As for the matter of the will, I did not betray the late emperor. I really considered the late emperor's reputation after his death. It was out of good intentions to show favor to the world in the name of the late emperor.

Mr. Gao accused me of writing Qingci for the late emperor to flatter him, which is indeed my fault.

But don't you remember that when you were still working in the Ministry of Rites, the late emperor once asked me with a secret letter: 'Gao Gong submitted a memorial, hoping to serve for the affairs of Zaizhan, do you want to approve him?'

This letter is still in my hand now."

Indeed, Gao Gong was actually a master of Qingci and had been rewarded by Emperor Jiajing many times.

Wei Guangde listened to the conversation between the two cabinet ministers and could only sigh in his heart. Gao Gong must have been forced into a desperate situation by Xu Jie, so he was so unwise to say "expel the old ministers of Yu Mansion" in public.

It seems that the impeachment of the six departments is still going on, but it has not been made public by the court.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde's heart was shocked. He now suspected that Ouyang Yijing had also submitted an impeachment without informing him in advance.

This old guy has a criminal record, although it was also forced by the situation.