Chapter 583 582 Who Is Hai Gangfeng?

It is not entirely true that Zhang Ke caused the trouble. Everything is the sequelae of Hu Zongxian, the former governor of Jiangnan.

When Hu Zongxian was suppressing the Japanese pirates, in order to raise funds for suppressing the Japanese pirates, he once increased taxes in nine provinces in Jiangnan and imposed additional taxes in many places, collecting lijin. For a time, the governor's office was piled with gold and silver.

After suppressing the two major pirates Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, the remaining pirates broke up into small groups and plundered everywhere, making it difficult for the Ming army to gather a large army to encircle and suppress them. They could only set up defenses along the coast.

The problem caused by this is that the Ming Dynasty needs elite troops to garrison along the coast, otherwise it would not be suppressing the Japanese pirates but sending heads.

Based on the dilemma of insufficient combat power of the Ming army, Hu Zongxian adopted Qi Jiguang's strategy and recruited soldiers on a large scale.

The salary of these soldiers was extremely low, almost only enough to meet basic living needs. Their income depended entirely on suppressing the Japanese pirates and exchanging heads for rewards.

Although this strategy effectively improved the combat effectiveness of the Ming army and achieved remarkable results for a while, there was also a problem of unclear rewards and punishments, especially the large amount of money that Hu Zongxian needed to send to the Yan family in the capital, which was either for false merit or for withholding military pay.

Correspondingly, in order to shut up the military generals, they also received a lot of benefits from the governor's headquarters. When the court sent the censor to investigate, everyone spoke in unison and responded to the court's investigation in a unified tone.

Therefore, officials in Jiangnan often impeached Hu Zongxian for embezzling military pay, but every time the court sent personnel to investigate, there was no real evidence.

However, when Yan Song fell and Hu Zongxian was arrested and brought to Beijing, as the rebellion of Wang Yingqi, the general of the guerrilla camp, was quickly quelled by Zhang Ke, Zhang Ke realized that in order to ensure the stability of Zhejiang soldiers and generals, the orientation of the lijin tax increase during Hu Zongxian's period could not be investigated, otherwise it would cause greater turmoil.

Therefore, Zhang Ke expressed to the military generals in Zhejiang that he would no longer investigate the corruption during Hu Zongxian's period to stabilize the military spirit.

The effect was remarkable, but because it was not acceptable, Zhang Ke naturally did not dare to report the matter, which led to today's disaster.

"Cen Yongbin?"

The person who advocated the investigation was Cen Yongbin, the secretary of the Nanjing Household Department. A censor and a censor actually had an internal conflict.

Wei Guangde did not have this person in his impression, but for this official position, Wei Guangde felt that if he was not a Jinshi in the 35th year, then it was very likely that he was a Jinshi in the 38th year.

After thinking about it, Wei Guangde called Zhang Ji, "Send someone to Meng Xian's house to inform him and ask him to come to my house tomorrow evening for a chat."

"Yes, sir."

Hearing Wei Guangde invite Duan Mengxian to come home tomorrow, Zhang Ji immediately agreed.

"In addition."

Wei Guangde originally wanted to call Ouyang Yijing as well, but thinking that one was a secretary in Beijing and the other was in Nanjing, he was afraid that they would not be able to talk, so he immediately rejected this idea in his heart.

Instead of asking Ouyang Yijing to be a lobbyist, it would be better to contact Nanjing and ask the Duke of Wei to contact Cen Yongbin and persuade him to give up investigating the matter.

With this idea, Wei Guangde waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's do it. You go down to arrange it."

After that, Wei Guangde did not write a letter immediately and send someone to Nanjing, but planned to wait until he met Duan Mengxian tomorrow to inquire about Cen Yongbin's situation.

After all, knowing yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger.

After putting away the letter, Wei Guangde got up and left the study to go to the backyard to play with the children.

Now Wei Guangde's son is three years old, and his wife's health has recovered. Wei Guangde still wants to have two more children.

After all, there is no family planning these days. Whether it is the folk or the officialdom, they all pay attention to having many children and more blessings.

Wei Guangde's elder brother Wei Wencai now has a son and a daughter. Wei Guangde does not intend to lose to his elder brother in this regard.

Wei Guangde has been an official for almost ten years. Although he has had affairs outside, he has not taken a concubine. This is also because he is in the officialdom.

Later generations think that in ancient times, people can be unscrupulous in the issue of wives and concubines. In fact, this is a big mistake.

Although many people in the folk do not follow the rules of the "Great Ming Law", people in the officialdom need to be extra careful.

To put it bluntly, if you offend someone one day, they will find the censors to impeach you for this, and that will be a sure thing.

It is possible to take a concubine as a maid, which is also a common practice among officials in this era, but there is still no excuse when it is investigated.

Wei Guangde did not want to give people a reason to talk about it, and the relationship between the couple was good. He could postpone this matter for a while and commit it after Prince Yu came to power. Even if someone impeached him for this, Prince Yu would just laugh it off, which is safe.

Of course, he did not dare to take a concubine or a maid, and a big reason was that Xu Jianglan never mentioned this matter. The power of her family was too great, which was sometimes a trouble.

On the second day, Wei Guangde returned to the mansion early after the court session to wait for Duan Mengxian to arrive.

Not long after, Duan Mengxian arrived as scheduled. Wei Guangde invited him in and sat him at the banquet. Duan Mengxian was a little surprised because he was the only one invited to the banquet today.

"Shandai, why did you ask me to come here today?"

After a few glasses of wine, Duan Mengxian asked.

"Is there a person named Cen Yongbin in your class who is currently serving as the secretary of the Nanjing Household Department?"

Since they are all his own people, Wei Guangde did not hide anything and asked directly.

"Cen Yongbin, yes, what's wrong?"

Duan Mengxian asked curiously. You know, he was the magistrate of Qian'an before and came to Nanjing two years ago. He didn't know why Wei Guangde asked him.

"It's like this"

So, Wei Guangde briefly told Duan Mengxian about Zhang Ke's matter, and also told him that Cen Yongbin was going to investigate the matter now.

"Hiss"

Although Duan Mengxian was a little surprised, he frowned.

Wei Guangde knew at a glance that something was wrong. This Cen Yongbin might not be easy to deal with.

Duan Mengxian glanced at Wei Guangde and said: "Shandai, this Cen Yongbin is a relatively upright person. I'm afraid it won't be easy to handle Zhang Ke's matter."

"Oh, that means you have no chance of persuading him."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly. The most fearful thing among science and education officials is to meet such a straightforward person. He accepts death and often does not know how to adapt. He only knows how to act according to the court's laws.

It seems fair, but in fact, it is often too rigid and often leads to bad things.

Of course, when such a person serves as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Science and Technology, it can only be said that the people in the Ministry of Personnel are also discerning, know people well and are good at assigning tasks. This is because such people naturally do not care about discipline inspection work, and their supervision and deterrence effects are huge.

Of course, it would be very sad for the people they target.

"His palace examination results and my performance were similar, and we had many contacts in the capital, so I edited a letter for him to explain this matter to Zhang Keguan."

Having said this, Duan Mengxian thought for a while before continuing: "In addition, I will contact some people in the same year and ask them to write to the customers as well, hoping it will be effective.

However, for Shandai, you'd better find some connections in Nanjing and put pressure on him from various sources. Maybe you can get him to stop and let go of the impeachment of Zhang Ke. "

Wei Guangde nodded after hearing this. Duan Mengxian was not sure, so he would definitely have to approach Nanjing Wei Guogong Mansion to see if the matter could be suppressed.

But to be honest, with the current influence of the Duke of Wei in Nanjing, it is still difficult to get a Ke Dao to back down. We can only look at the relationship between the Duke of Wei and the Six Ministries in Nanjing.

Although the Kedao Yanguan is powerful, after all, the official position is low, and promotion depends on the attitude of the people they supervise.

If Cen Yongbin is a smart person and wants to go further in the officialdom, he still has to learn to bow his head when he should.

Otherwise, it would be unwise to offend your boss just to stick to your own ideals.

The matter with Zhang Ke was over, and the two of them drank happily.

Wei Guangde didn't drink openly when he had something on his mind before. Now that the matter has been settled, he naturally doesn't have to restrain himself.

During the dinner, Duan Mengxian talked about the things he saw and heard from the head of the Criminal Department, especially the cases that he reviewed.

"By the way, Shandai, you have been busy with the enrollment ceremony recently. I'm afraid you don't know much about the affairs in the DPRK."

Duan Mengxian was mainly talking before, and Wei Guangde was just listening. Occasionally he spoke, and it was mostly related to the school record office, especially now that branch officials like them are under huge pressure.

"Is there anything else interesting happening in the court?"

Wei Guangde asked cheerfully.

Prince Yu's Mansion will definitely inform him of important events in the court as soon as possible.

If I didn't tell him, it would be a trivial matter.

"Let's just talk about what happened to Cheng Shoujie last time. Didn't he report the Yan family's wealth? The court agreed with Xu Jie and made Cheng Shoujie responsible for recovering the stolen goods."

"Yeah, I know about this. It's been a while. Is it still happening again?"

Wei Guangde said suspiciously.

"Of course, you don't know. Because of this matter, after the edict was issued, Hai Ruihai Ruxian, the head of the Ministry of Household Affairs, wrote three memorials about the matter, saying that if the matter cannot be resolved in time, he is afraid that it will not be resolved if it is delayed. Of."

Having said this, Duan Mengxian raised his wine glass to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde understood and raised his glass to touch it with him. Then the two of them drank the wine, and then heard Duan Mengxian continue: "The same goes for Hai Rui. When the cabinet rejected it one after another, he continued to play, even if the doctor and member of the household department Wai Lang and other superiors came to him, but they ignored him.

What's more, after the minister and Gao Shangshu both talked to him, he still insisted on presenting the memorial, so fiercely. "

"For a person like this, he would be grateful if he could become a doctor in the household department in his lifetime."

If you dare to argue with your boss, you can't say that such a person is not good at all. It can only be said that he is lacking in ideas and does not take his own future to heart.

"No matter how he works as an official, he can only reach the level of doctor, and he is worthy of the heaven. Perhaps it is because he has no desires and demands, but he is free and fearless."

Duan Mengxian smiled.

"If you don't offend your boss, why can't you get promoted? Even if you are ranked in the top three, you still have the opportunity to be promoted to the rank of minister and rank in the imperial class."

Wei Guangde smiled and said that he drank several times more wine at this moment, and Wei Guangde didn't pay attention to who Duan Mengxian was talking about.

If you are awake, you will naturally have different reactions.

But at this moment, he was just speaking and acting according to his common sense.

"He can't do it."

Duan Mengxian was similar to him at the moment, just shaking his head and saying he couldn't do it.

"I can't do it. You should give me a reason. Even if you offend someone this time, I don't think Gao Shangshu is a small-minded person. I wouldn't give him small shoes or prevent him from being promoted."

Wei Guangde said casually, "Also, no matter what, he is the same year as you. It is not the way for him to be an official. As a person of the same year, you should also give some persuasion."

Wei Guangde had no impression of Hai Rui Hai Ruxian, and he was in charge of the same person as Duan Mengxian, so Wei Guangde thought he was the same year as Duan Mengxian.

"He is not the same year as me, and he is not even a Jinshi."

Duan Mengxian looked at Wei Guangde and explained with a smile.

"Not Jinshi, Gongsheng? Juren?"

Wei Guangde took two bites of food and regained his energy a little. When he heard Duan Mengxian's words, he immediately asked.

"To return a tribute student, it must be a promotion."

Duan Mengxian shook his head and smiled, with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

No wonder, this man offended Shangguan so much, and there seemed to be a hint of gloating in Duan Mengxian's words.

These days, scholars are divided into three, six or nine grades. Jinshi really looks down on the juren, even if they are the same as Jinshi, they are still Jinshi.

"If you can be the head of the household department, you are considered capable. Otherwise, you should hold a local official position such as county magistrate. It is rare to be a county magistrate."

Wei Guangde nodded. In fact, he looked down on Juren. Even if his knowledge was poor, he was still a Jinshi.

"This Hai Rui probably knows that there is no hope of promotion. Even if he flatters the superior, there is not much room for promotion, so naturally he just breaks the pot."

"Wait a minute, you said the person in charge is called Hai Rui? Hai Gangfeng?"

This time Wei Guangde noticed the name of the person Duan Mengxian said, Hai Rui. He was a decent person, a representative of uprightness who hated evil as much as hatred, a model of loyal ministers, a ruthless person who dared to carry a coffin and scold Emperor Jiajing.

In Wei Guangde's impression, Hai Rui had never read any books. The words "Jia Jing Jiajing, every house was clean" were said to have come from Hai Rui's mouth, which made the emperor almost furious.

"Hai Gangfeng? I don't know. I only know that his name is Hai Rui, and his courtesy name is Ruxian. He is from Qiongzhou. He used to be a preacher there, and then he became a county magistrate for some reason. When he was a magistrate, he was different from others. It's true. He was a good-looking man, so he was favored by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and rated as high, so he was transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs in the capital."

"oh oh."

Wei Guangde could only nod at this moment.

There should not be another Hai Rui in the Ming Dynasty, but I didn't expect that this person would be in the capital.

Hai Rui's name is still respected by future generations.

Speaking of honest officials, he is undoubtedly the first thing people think of.

Although some people admit that he is honest, they deny his character based on his ability to do things and his commitment to family responsibilities. But no matter what, Hai Rui's name will last forever.

"Are you familiar with him? I would like to meet him if I have the chance."

Wei Guangde became curious and wanted to see the famous Haigang Peak.

"I'm not familiar with him, but Shandai wants to get to know him. I'll ask someone later. I think it will take some time."

Duan Mengxian said.

In fact, it is easy to understand. The gap between Jinshi and Juren is a little wide. They are not from the same family, so they naturally have less contact. Duan Mengxian will definitely have to go through countless twists and turns to get in touch with him.

After the banquet was over, Wei Guangde sent Duan Mengxian away and went directly back to the study. He wrote a letter to Xu Bangrui, the young prince of Wei Guogong Mansion in Nanjing, asking him to help with the matter. At the same time, there was also a letter asking his father-in-law Xu Peng to help, but he did not send it directly. Instead, they went to the Duke of Wei's mansion and handed them over to Xu Bangrui, who would decide according to the situation.

If he wanted to use higher-level connections, he had to come forward, but Wei Guogong Xu Pengju had to come forward. However, considering that Cen Yongbin was just a member of the household department, Wei Guangde thought that as long as he could invite the Nanjing City Officials and the household doctor to come forward.

After the letter was written, Wei Guangde immediately called Zhang Ji and arranged for a courier to be sent to Nanjing early tomorrow morning.