Chapter 177 176 West Garden

After Wei Guangde and other new Jinshi paid their respects to Wang Yongbin, Wu Shan and others, they stood up and saw that the two adults looked really bad.

Wei Guangde understood that the new Jinshi had just praised their official positions in the imperial street and came to the Ministry of Rites. People who didn't know would definitely think that they were going to complain or something.

For officials, the most feared thing is this kind of mass incident, which is difficult to handle.

Moreover, if it happened in the local area, it would be fine, but where is this place?

In the capital, at the foot of the emperor, it is possible that the actions of these Jinshi have been reported to the Western Garden by the Jinyiwei.

After a while, Wang Yongbin was heard to say: "You Jinshi just finished praising your official positions, and you didn't go back to rest and prepare for tomorrow's Rongen Banquet. Why did you run to the Ministry of Rites?"

Wang Yongbin spoke very slowly and was slightly out of breath. Obviously, he was not in good health, and Wei Guangde saw it immediately.

Looking at his old face, he knew what was going on, and quickly bowed again and said, "To reply to the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, I was resting in a roadside restaurant after I got promoted, and heard my Shanxi colleague talking about the tragic earthquake in Shanxi and Shaanxi last December. Is it true?"

When Wei Guangde mentioned the earthquake in Shanxi and Shaanxi, he noticed that not only Wang Yongbin, but also Wu Shan's eyes were twitching.

The reaction was a bit big.

"What does this have to do with you?"

Wang Yongbin said in a bad tone.

"I heard that the Tongzhengsi received a report from the local authorities, saying that the earthquake caused heavy losses, and more than 800,000 people died before and after, and because the court had no money, it only took out 150,000 taels of silver from the border military expenses to send to Shanxi and Shaanxi for disaster relief."

Wei Guangde didn't need to hide this matter, and said it directly.

At this time, Wei Guangde noticed that Wang Yongbin, who was at the head of the hall, suddenly closed his eyes, and tears seemed to flash in the corners of his eyes. Then he opened his eyes again and looked at him and said, "So what if it is, so what if it is not, this is the court's business. You are new Jinshi, so you should enjoy your Rong En Banquet.

If you want to intervene, then wait until you are appointed as an official."

"Grand Master, there are more than one million victims in Shanxi and Shaanxi. The court has allocated 150,000 taels of silver, which is not enough. I heard that more than 500,000 people died on the night of the earthquake, and then tens of thousands of people died in the middle of winter. I am horrified to hear about the hunger and plague afterwards."

At this point, Wei Guangde turned around and glanced at the Jinshi behind him before turning to Wang Yongbin, who was at the head, and said, "We have no other intentions here, but to ask the Grand Master to reduce the expenses of the Rong En Banquet. A bowl of water and two steamed buns are enough. Please use the saved money to help the victims in Shanxi and Shaanxi."

At this point, Wei Guangde bowed deeply again.

After Wei Guangde saluted, several Jinshis following him also bowed and said in unison: "Please ask the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan to provide relief to the victims."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Shan, who was on the right side of the upper seat, stood up and said, "Are you here for this?"

After saying this, he turned his head and looked at Wang Yongbin, the Minister of State, on the left. At this time, he saw two lines of tears on his old face. He was leaning on the armrests of the chair with both hands and trying to get up. Wu Shan walked over quickly to help Wang Shangshu up.

Wei Guangde was a little puzzled by their reaction, but he didn't say much, just bowed his hands.

At this time, Wang Yongbin had already stood up and said in a slightly trembling voice: "I will take the fathers and fellow villagers to thank you all here."

As Wang Yongbin was about to bow, fortunately, Wu Shan, who was supporting him, held him steadily and prevented him from bending down.

"Huh?"

At this time, Wei Guangde was surprised. Could it be that Wang Yongbin was from Shanxi or Shaanxi?

Just now, Wang Yongbin spoke in the standard Mandarin of the Ming Dynasty, without any accent from his hometown.

But it was obvious from what Wang Shangshu said that he was also from Shanxi and Shaanxi.

"It is true that the earthquake in Shanxi and Shaanxi caused heavy losses, and it is also true that the court has no extra money for disaster relief, but it is a banquet of honor."

Wu Shan, who was standing next to him, was interrupted by Wei Guangde who bowed and saluted, "Sir Wu, aren't we studying hard just to enjoy the supreme honor of participating in the banquet of honor?

The banquet of honor will be held as usual, but please reduce the level of the dishes and replace the fine wine and delicacies with plain steamed buns, so the ceremony will be simple, and the money saved will be used for disaster relief. This is all that we, the Jinshi, can do for the victims of the disaster in Shanxi and Shaanxi."

"Grand Master, what do you think?"

Wu Shan understood what Wei Guangde said after listening to their words. It seems that hundreds of Jinshi have gathered in such a short time. This kid still has a good appeal among these new Jinshi.

However, Wu Shan did not dare to agree to their request outright, but asked the real master of the Ministry of Rites.

"The court has its own system. You have good intentions, but you cannot do whatever you want.

The Rongen Banquet is not only your honor, but also the face of the court. There is no possibility of downgrading it."

Wang Yongbin shook his head and answered Wei Guangde.

While they were talking, a man dressed as a clerk outside the door whispered a few words to a companion behind him, and then trotted out of the side door of the Ministry of Rites.

A lieutenant outside the door was leading a horse. When he saw the man running close, he handed the reins in his hand and said a few words to him. The man then jumped on the horse and rode northward.

Just as Wang Yongbin used the court system to shirk the matter, the news that a large number of Jinshi gathered in the Ministry of Rites was also spreading rapidly among the various departments of the court.

At this moment, there were still Jinshi who knew the news later and were rushing to the Ministry of Rites. The champion Zhu Dashou and the third place Jinda had already arrived.

They were not stopped by the clerk outside. After all, they were the leaders of this year's Jinshi, so they were naturally taken to the main hall.

The incident happened suddenly, and there was no sign before. The officials of various departments were very puzzled by the actions of the new Jinshi, and they had no idea why they did such a thing.

The officials in the six ministries and five temples gathered together from time to time to discuss, but no one could come up with an acceptable guess.

In fact, even in the Ministry of Rites at this time, in addition to the minister in the main hall, other officials were also discussing what happened outside.

At this time, outside the gate of the West Garden, several war horses approached from afar to the front of the gate, and the knights reined in their war horses.

As everyone dismounted, the leader looked around and stopped in front of the gate, but did not go in. Even if the guards inside the gate wanted to come out, he waved his hand to stop.

This person was wearing a python robe, standing there with a very majestic smile.

But after standing for a while, an impatient expression appeared on his face, and he began to look back at the road he came from.

The few people who came with him were now scattered around. They were either wearing flying fish clothes or Qilin clothes. Obviously, they were not ordinary people.

Not long after, a fast horse came from afar, accompanied by the crisp sound of horse hooves stepping on the stone road.

A man dressed as a clerk in the yamen on the horse saw the man in front of him and got off the horse without waiting for the horse to stop completely, and then knelt in front of him.

"Greetings to Governor Lu."

"What's wrong with the Ministry of Rites? What are those Jinshi running for?"

There were not many people wearing dragon robes in the Jiajing Dynasty, and even fewer in the capital. He was naturally Lu Bing, the governor of the Five Military Governors' Office of the court and the Jinyiwei.

After hearing that hundreds of Jinshi were blocking the Ministry of Rites in the Northern Pacification Office, he had already set off. Although he didn't know what happened at this time, he thought it would not be a trivial matter.

At this time, if he could not get to Xiyuan to report in advance, he would be derelict in his duty as the commander of Jinyiwei.

Since its inception, Jinyiwei has been a military organization for the emperor's guards. Its main functions include direct guards and patrols and arrests.

However, the position of direct guards has been forgotten for a long time, and people are more concerned about the patrol and arrest power of Jinyiwei.

They are only responsible to the emperor, and can arrest anyone, including royal relatives, and conduct undisclosed interrogations. They collect military intelligence and instigate enemy generals.

When an emergency occurs in the capital, the free patrol lieutenant will discover it and report it to the Northern Pacification Division as soon as possible, although he can't figure out the reason.

After Lu Bing knew about it, he set out to the outside of Xiyuan as soon as possible. As for the reason, someone naturally went to find out and report it here, which is why he was able to report matters to Emperor Jiajing before others many times.

At this time, after listening to the report of the lieutenant sitting in the Ministry of Rites, he frowned and asked: "You mean, the Jinshi went to the Ministry of Rites because they wanted to hold a simple Rongen Banquet and donate the money to the victims of the disaster in Shanxi and Shaanxi?"

"Yes, sir, Wei Guangde, the examiner of the palace examination, said so in the main hall, but Lord Wang said that this Rongen Banquet is an ancestral system and the face of the court, and it must not be simple."

The clerk replied.

"Wang Yongbin is from Shaanxi, right? He still insists on the ancestral system at this time."

After listening to the report of the lieutenant, Lu Bing showed a sarcastic smile on his face, but it only appeared for a moment and then disappeared.

"Now there are more than 200 Jinshi gathered in the Ministry of Rites, and the champion and the second place have also arrived."

The clerk continued.

"I know."

Lu Bing said lightly, then turned his head to look at the gate of the West Garden behind him, and after hesitating for a moment, he chose to go in.

At first, Lu Bing thought that something went wrong during the ceremony, and the Jinshi scholars took the overall situation into consideration and attacked the Ministry of Rites after praising their officials in the Imperial Street. He didn't expect that he was wrong.

Although it was not a bad thing, the Jinshi scholars besieging the Ministry of Rites was not a small matter, and it must be reported to Emperor Jiajing. As for the leader Wei Guangde, he could only pray for the best.

Not long after, Lu Bing led a few people into the Western Garden.

At this time, in the main hall of the Ministry of Rites, Zhu Dashou, Jin Da and Wei Guangde had already argued with Wang Yongbin and Wu Shan.

One side believed that the court should cut unnecessary expenses if the national expenditure was insufficient. The court's rituals were systems and should be implemented, but the process could be simplified to save as much as possible.

The other side insisted that the rituals were the court's systems and should be handled according to the system. There was no possibility of making do with what was available.

Soon after Tao Dalin heard the news and rushed to join the debate, the Ministry of Rites gradually became a little exhausted.

Wang Yongbin was old and in poor health, so he was not good at arguing. The three assistant ministers, including Wu Shan, were unable to resist the moral high ground of the four top scorers in this year's exam.

Wei Guangde had realized something very important during the debate, that is, whether to abide by the ancestral system or to keep pace with the times and reform in line with the trend of the times.

In Wei Guangde's impression, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it seemed that the reformists did not have much advantage in the court, because the conservative forces were extremely strong. They actually used the ancestral system as a big hat to suppress the reformists for their own interests.

Perhaps, we can find an opportunity to pry the ancestral system from this incident.

At this time, in the Yongshou Palace in the Western Garden, the Jiajing Emperor, who had just finished the ceremony, took a hot towel from the eunuch's tray to wipe his face, and then asked, "Are you saying that Wei Guangde took a Jinshi to the Ministry of Rites and asked to lower the level of the Rongen Banquet, and the saved money was transported to the disaster areas in Shanxi and Shaanxi?"

"Exactly."

Lu Bing stood below and answered truthfully, "Your Majesty, the Jinshi are still asking questions and are going to the Ministry of Rites. The number one scholar and top pick in the current examination of the Kedian Palace have already arrived at the Ministry of Rites, and the second place should be here soon."

However, Emperor Jiajing in his seat chose to close his eyes and meditate. It took a long time before Lu Bing spoke in a panic.

Lu Bing is an old man who has followed Emperor Jiajing for many years and knows his temper very well.

When he encounters something he doesn't like, the more he gets angry on the spot, the lighter the consequences, while silence often has serious consequences.

Lu Bing didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing at the moment. He said it was a good thing. Wang Yongbin and Wu Shan from the Ministry of Rites strongly opposed it, saying it was a bad thing. But he felt that the Jinshi did not do anything wrong.

If there is anything wrong with this matter, it is that everyone should not go to the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, but just send a few representatives to the Ministry of Rites to negotiate.

However, Lu Bing also understood the reason why these Jinshi did this. Time was too urgent.

Now, the Department of Fine Food under the Ministry of Etiquette may have already started purchasing the ingredients for tomorrow's Rong En Banquet, and it will definitely be too late to contact the Jinshi to jointly submit a letter.

Emperor Jiajing opened his eyes and looked at Lu Bing, then at Huang Jin beside him, and then said: "What do you think they mean? Do they mean that I misappropriated the court's money to repair the temple or something?"

When Jiajing spoke, his tone was very gentle and showed no anger at all, but the meaning revealed in his words made Lu Bing and Huang Jin shiver in their hearts.

Neither of them dared to speak. This was the emperor's rebellion. Whoever touched him would die, and the palace fell into silence.

"Ahem."

At this moment, the eunuch coughed from outside the palace, and Huang Jin panicked for no reason.

This was a secret signal between him and people outside. Usually when he had something to tell him and it was inconvenient to go into the palace to report it, he would often send a signal like this, and he would also take the time to go out and check on the situation.

"Who's coughing? Huang Jin, tell him to come in and ask what's going on. You, the director of the East Factory, don't even know about this. It's a bit derelict in your duty."

Jiajing knew everything about his minions, but he just didn't want to take care of it in the past.

At this moment, he was in a troubling mood. What kind of peace of mind did they have in the first-level Jinshi that he ordered?

Huang Jin hesitated slightly and bowed, "Yes."

Then he reached the entrance of the palace in a few steps. He did not dare to go out, but waved to a young eunuch outside to signal him to come in.

The little eunuch walked to the door, handed out the envelope in his hand and said: "Ancestor, this is a message from Dongchang."

Huang Jin took the envelope and turned to look at the palace. Emperor Jiajing just waved his hand casually.

"You go down first."

Huang Jin called the little eunuch away, and then returned to Emperor Jiajing with the envelope in both hands.

"Open it and see what your Dongchang says."

Without waiting for Huang Jin to present the information, Emperor Jiajing spoke.

"yes."

Huang Jin had no choice but to open the envelope and take out the documents from inside, quickly browsed through it, and his fair old face twitched.