Chapter 845 934 Court Meeting

Yang Bo officially took over the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Naturally, his first memorial after taking office was to request the Beijing Inspectorate to remove incompetent officials. This marked the beginning of the imperial inspection in the Gaogong era.

As the great scholars Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde, and Lu Tiaoyang resigned from their posts, they were no longer as good as a single official in Yan Yi, and they were not as good as a simple handle in judging ministers. They submitted memorials begging for their dismissal. After the emperor refused, all officials Such memorials were given one after another.

Lu Shusheng, Minister of Rites, Wang Xilie, the Minister of the Left, and Wang Xilie, the Minister of the Right, each presented their official ribbons and edicts, and continued to serve as usual.

When high-ranking officials reported that they were not in charge, they were naturally just pretending. The emperor refused and allowed them to continue serving. Naturally, there was another result for those who were verified by the Ministry of Personnel.

This Beijing inspection lasted for one month and was originally targeted. The inspection conducted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and other yamen quickly denounced Mu Wenzhao, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and handed them over to Han, Cheng Wen and other thirty-two officials of the Song Dynasty. Fifty-three members including Xu Fuyuan, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, and Li Chun, the imperial censor, were demoted and transferred to foreign posts.

Zhang Qi, the prime minister of Guanglu Temple, and two other officials stayed idle, Shangbao Si Qingcheng Cheng Zhongsheng was transferred to foreign posts, and Si Cheng Chen Yide stayed idle.

Therefore, this time in the capital ended very quickly, and a large number of officials were dismissed. After this inspection, all the high-ranking parties in the government offices in the capital were eliminated.

After a brief period of fright, the other officials from the capital quickly realized that they seemed to be dealing with people who were close to Gao Gong. The attention they had left suddenly became valuable, and everyone kept moving around. Relationships want to be promoted.

Even if he couldn't be promoted, he would naturally hope to be transferred to a yamen with more wealth or more power.

Among the people who were defeated this time, there were quite a few people from the Sixth Section and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, enough to keep them busy, and the imperial court's fortunes soon recovered with the end of the Beijing Procuratorate.

For the senior officials of the imperial court, the changes caused by the imperial inspection were insignificant. After all, most of Gao Gong's disciples had entered the officialdom recently and held low official positions.

After waving the big stick, when Yang Bo's inspection in Beijing was about to end, he wrote another seal.

On the fifth day of the eighth month of the sixth year of Longqing's reign, the Ministry of Personnel announced the issue of granting and granting. Anyone whose grandfather's official position was higher than that of his descendants could be promoted to the first rank of casual official. Fan Ding was worried about recovering from his illness and gave him a fake official title as a gift to meet Ren Tong.

If the grandfather's status is reduced, he is allowed to make a petition, and the grandfather is allowed to live in leisurely life. If a foreign official is promoted to the imperial rank, he is allowed to change his status according to the official position, but no exceptions are allowed for foreign appointments.

This is to provide benefits to the officials in the capital. For a time, many officials in the capital submitted petitions to petition for their elders.

In fact, it can also be seen from this that most of the current Beijing officials come from official families, and the elders of many officials' families may have been officials.

After a hundred years of peace, the world's scholars have changed from poor scholars to bureaucratic families. Ordinary families have no ability to provide a Jinshi.

Only a few people with extraordinary talents can do it by virtue of their talent and intelligence.

This is the result of class consolidation. When such people become officials, they must not only consider their own and family interests, but also the national interests.

In their eyes, everything they get is given by their family, not by the court, and the court also needs them to herdsmen everywhere to stabilize the world.

If this kind of consciousness continues and develops to the end, it will naturally follow the rise of powerful families and control the military power, thereby finding opportunities to complete a dynasty change.

But so far, this awareness is only in its infancy, and many officials are unaware of the eventual consequences.

After the Ministry of Personnel completed the three tasks after Yang Bo took office, Zhang Shouzhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, sent a memorial to the palace. He was quickly criticized. The next day, a decree was sent to summon Wang Guoguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment in Nanjing, to take over the Ministry of household affairs. The position of Shangshu.

With the change of ownership of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the new Minister of Household Affairs, Wang Guoguang, soon took office. He said that the Jingu Department of the Ministry of Households was extremely cumbersome. Conscription became more cumbersome and treachery became more rampant. As a result, the records became denser. In fact, They are mostly the same, but they cost a lot of money to create, and they are kept in a high cabinet without ever being seen. Today, the cabinet inscribes a checkered document book. After checking all the deficiencies, it is concise and can be kept. The rest will be returned to the province.

According to Wang Guoguang's plan, twenty-two books of the Ministry of Revenue were merged and twenty-eight volumes were abolished. This reduced the number of books to fifty at once, which not only freed the officials of the Ministry of Household from the heavy work of creating books, but also required the imperial court to All kinds of data will not be affected by this.

In the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng was in the room. Wei Guangde and Lu Tiaoyang both carefully read the terms and conditions submitted by Wang Guoguang and agreed after a brief discussion.

Naturally, it is inconvenient for the cabinet to make decisions on matters concerning the Ministry of Household Affairs.

What's more, after the Ministry of Revenue does this, the actual work will not be affected, which is also a good thing.

As long as the work is not delayed, it is not up to the Minister in charge to decide what to do.

"Uncle, has the Ministry of Household Affairs not yet decided on the matter of shipping rice?"

After Wei Guangde discussed with the cabinet the abolition of the Ministry of Household Records, he asked about grain and sea transportation.

This matter has been brought to the Ministry of Household Affairs for some time, but because of Zhang Juzheng's change of attitude, Zhang Shouzhi planned to leave again, so naturally he didn't take it seriously and dragged his feet until now without a ministry meeting.

"The issue of grain transfer is very controversial in the Ministry of Revenue. There are supporters and opponents. The fight has not come to an end yet."

Zhang Juzheng said helplessly.

"Master Chief Assistant, I have read relevant documents regarding the shipping of grain by sea. Indeed, although shipping by sea is difficult, for grain transportation, the Yellow River has been flooded in recent years. The imperial court needs to master a channel to ensure that grain is transported to the capital. This is It’s a major matter related to the stability of the Northland.”

Lu Tiaoyang also expressed his attitude at this time. After analysis, he approved of grain shipping.

Although he still had concerns about transporting all or most of the grain to the capital by sea, he also knew that Wei Guangde had actually retreated and only asked the court to transport a portion of the grain by sea every year to ensure that the grain transport officials were familiar with the sea route for preparation.

After all, even if the grain transport ships set sail in advance every year according to the requirements of the Ministry of Works, the canal has such a large carrying capacity after all, and a large number of grain transport ships cannot pass through the Huanghuai waterway at one time, and there is always a priority.

The grain transport ships in the front can naturally pass before the flood season, while the ones behind may still be blocked by floods.

Speaking of changing the sea, Zhang Juzheng was actually a little entangled in his heart.

He was not a person who did not know good from bad. The attempt of Shandong had actually proved the feasibility of this matter, but as the prime minister, he needed to consider more things.

Not only the policy of issuing Gao Gong, but also the interest groups of the grain transport have been lobbying for this matter recently, especially using the grain transport soldiers and the livelihoods of millions of people on both sides of the canal as reasons.

Zhang Juzheng understood that what they said was actually a threat to him.

Come to think of it, if they deliberately do bad things, will the people on both sides of the canal who have suffered a lot do something unbearable to say, and in the end it will still be him, the Prime Minister, who will take the blame.

No matter what policy the court chooses, it is actually a double-edged sword. Some people benefit and some people lose interests, and their cabinet is to weigh the pros and cons and make the so-called "correct" decision.

"I will talk to Ru Guan later and let him personally preside over this matter and give an answer as soon as possible."

Zhang Juzheng has not thought about it yet. Although he had agreed with Wei Guangde on this matter at the beginning, he can't interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue after all. If he intervenes too deeply, it will easily make Wang Guoguang unhappy.

In fact, the so-called fear of parties is not of one mind, and each has its own demands. It's just that everyone is consistent in the general direction, or gathers together for a common purpose.

Zhang Juzheng naturally relies on the huge rural party in Huguang and the relationship left by his former mentor Xu Jie, especially the cooperative relationship with Yang Bo in Shanxi.

But Wang Guoguang is from Shanxi, so he is naturally a direct descendant of Yang Bo. They are just partners. It is not good to boss Wang Guoguang around. It will easily lead to dirty things after a long time, which is not good.

In fact, the most important reason why Zhang Juzheng can suppress Wei Guangde in the court is that he has enough connections.

But officials from Huguang are already comparable to officials from Jiangxi, not to mention people from Shanxi and Nanzhili.

The court now is no longer the era when Yan Song was in power and half of the court officials were from Jiangxi.

If Wei Guangde sat in the position of the prime minister.

Zhang Juzheng only started for such a year, he knew that this was absolutely impossible. Officials from Qi, Zhejiang and other places, as well as people from Huguang and Nanzhili, would never allow a second Yan Song to exist.

Yan Song suppressed them for more than ten years.

It's not that there are no talented people in each province, but Yan Song turned a blind eye to it when he was in power, and just promoted officials from Jiangxi, which led to the situation that nearly half of the six ministries were from Jiangxi at that time.

It's absolutely impossible to do it again.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng suddenly came up with an idea. Although Wei Guangde couldn't defeat him and sit in the position of Prime Minister, he could also use his concern for sea transportation to make him fight with the people from the Caosi.

"I'll talk to Ruguan, but you should also contact the people in the Ministry of Revenue, Shandai.

As He Qing said, the issue of sea transportation of grain is related to the stability of the north. It is a major event, and the Ministry of Revenue must not go wrong.

Ruguan has just joined the Ministry of Revenue. I'm worried that he can't control the situation and his opposition is too loud during the ministry's discussion."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde and said.

Wei Guangde certainly sneered at Zhang Juzheng's reasons.

Before Wang Guoguang went to Nanjing to be the Shangshu, he was the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He had also been an official in the Ministry of Revenue for a long time and had many acquaintances from top to bottom. He was not a new head of the Ministry.

Even when Zhang Shouzhi was forced to take on the task, he quickly sorted out the Ministry of Revenue.

Wei Guangde had some guesses about Zhang Juzheng's intentions, but it was not convenient to say more at this time, so he nodded, "I know about this matter. I will sit down with my colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue to discuss the issue of sea transportation of grain."

Wei Guangde was not familiar with the Ministry of Revenue, but he also knew that if he wanted to walk more steadily, he still needed someone in the six ministries.

In the past, he thought the Ministry of Revenue was a quagmire and was worried about getting stuck in it, but in his current position, no matter how much trouble he had, he had to get in.

It seems that among the six ministries, Wei Guangde had never helped the Ministry of Revenue.

He was thinking about how to contact his peers in the Ministry of Revenue and let them act as a matchmaker to contact the people in the Ministry of Revenue.

After leaving Zhang Juzheng's office, Wei Guangde wrote a note and asked Lu Bu to take it out and give it to the servant outside to take it back to the mansion and give it to Zhang Ji.

Tonight, Wei Guangde planned to invite his peers in the Ministry of Revenue to the mansion to understand the situation of the Ministry of Revenue, who supported the sea transportation of grain, and who opposed it, so that he could take targeted actions.

Supporters, of course, must be deliberately won over, anyway, he planned to reach out to the Ministry of Revenue.

As for those who have opposing opinions, Wei Guangde did not intend to argue with them. If they could not reach an agreement, he would find a way to transfer them away.

Yang Bo expelled Gao Gong's people from the Ministry of Personnel, but Wei Guangde's people who stayed in the Ministry of Personnel were still there, and the team left by Yin Shizhan at the beginning also joined him now.

Of course, Wei Guangde would not believe all these people. After all, most of them were officials from Shandong. In the late Ming Dynasty, the political arena was mainly a competition between the Qi, Zhejiang and Chu parties. The Qi party was quite powerful, which showed that the rise of Shandong officials was also very powerful.

Of course, Wei Guangde also knew that the Donglin Party had the last laugh. After all, "the water is too cold" was too famous, and the talent of that group was really beyond words.

At night, after Wei Guangde sent off his classmate who was on duty at the Ministry of Revenue, he frowned and sat down in the study, and remained silent.

After Wang Guoguang took office at the Ministry of Revenue, he did not talk about his attitude towards the sea transportation of grain. Guo Chaobin and Fu Yi, the incumbent assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, had the opposite attitude. Guo Chaobin supported the sea transportation of grain, while Fu Yi opposed it.

Wei Guangde was not worried about Guo Chaobin. He was from Shandong and naturally would not oppose the sea transportation. You have to know that people in Shandong, perhaps because of the seaside, are not afraid of the so-called maritime risks.

Those who oppose shipping are mostly from inland areas, which is why they are afraid of the sea.

Of course, there are also people in coastal provinces who oppose shipping, but most of them are related to maritime merchants, after all, they involve their own business.

Fu Yi is one of them. He is from Shanxi and is a member of Yang Bo and Wang Guoguang. In fact, Wei Guangde thinks that Wang Guoguang himself may not support shipping.

"Good calculation."

After a long time, Wei Guangde finally spoke and said three words.

Wei Guangde has been sitting in the study for so long, thinking about this matter all the time. Zhang Juzheng has an ambiguous attitude towards the Ministry of Revenue.

You know, Yang Bo has deep-rooted power in the court, but he still needs Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng can't persuade the Shanxi folks.

However, Zhang Juzheng asked Wei Guangde to help him make peace. Wei Guangde didn't understand it before, but now he knows it.

In addition to letting Wei Guangde attract the dissatisfaction of the Cao Gang, perhaps Shanxi also wants to get some benefits from him.

For, it's just an exchange of interests.

When Wang Guoguang was transferred from the Ministry of Revenue to Nanjing, Fu Yi took over Wang Guoguang's position. Could it be that he wanted Fu Yi to take another official position he had set his eyes on?

In fact, Zhang Juzheng could also be promoted, but now the court and the public are dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng's leadership of Huguang, or the Chu Party, and his close relationship with Shanxi.

If Zhang Juzheng initiated the promotion of Fu Yi, it might cause dissatisfaction among other officials, and then they would have an opinion of Zhang Juzheng.

Just when Wei Guangde was looking for an opportunity to have a good talk with Wang Guoguang, the Ministry of Works reported that Zhaoling was completed and that the emperor's coffin could be placed in the mountain mausoleum on a chosen day.

Then, the main work of the cabinet turned to determining the funeral arrangements with the Ministry of Rites, determining the remaining 28 matters, and setting the ceremonial notes and submitting them for execution.

In this way, more than half a month has passed.

On this day, when Zhang Juzheng was in the cabinet, Wei Guangde was called again.

"Shandai, your majesty has been on the throne for several months, but he only attends court on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. I would like to ask for a change."