Chapter 585 584 Yan Ne Resigns

Wei Guangde was busy with schooling and had gradually left the court. He didn't have much time to inquire about the affairs in the court every day.

However, as Zhang Ji, who has been with him until now, he still knows very well what his master is more concerned about.

What could be more likely to attract Wei Guangde's attention than Shibo, so today Zhang Ji immediately found Wei Guangde with a copy of Liu Ji's memorial after getting the news.

Sitting on the carriage, Wei Guangde quickly read Liu Ji's memorial.

"Once this provocation is started, the island will roar and gather, and the harm will be indescribable."

He softly read out the dangers listed by Liu Ji and curled his lips.

Now that the Japanese pirates in the southeast are being suppressed by generals such as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, the Japanese situation seems to have eased. Slightly larger groups of Japanese pirates have been wiped out in Fujian and Guangdong.

In fact, the current situation is very good, but if you are unprepared, smart people will be prepared for danger.

The sea is banned and large groups of Japanese pirates are banned. These officials still can't see the strangeness.

"I know, don't worry about this."

Wei Guangde does not intend to intervene in this matter during the Jiajing Dynasty, troublesome.

Because he had to take action, he had to go through Xu Jie in the end, allowing him to intervene appropriately after the Ministry of Household Affairs put forward his opinions.

Regarding Liu Ji's memorial, Wei Guangde knew it without asking, and the Ministry of Revenue would definitely support it.

If not for anything else, it was because Liu Ji was worried about the Japanese pirates gathering again.

As long as there is such a possibility, the Ministry of Revenue will never object to this matter in order to hand over some money to the Shipping Department.

Now that Xu Jie and Yan Ne are fighting among themselves, it would be better for me to calm down and stay in the school recording hall.

Within two days, the news was received as expected. The Ministry of Revenue was deeply convinced of Liu Ji's memorial, and immediately sent the memorial and the memorial to the cabinet together with the report.

The concerns of the Ministry of Revenue are naturally the concerns of the cabinet, and Xu Jie does not have Yan Song's courage.

As long as Yan Song felt that there was great benefit in it, he would dare to push the matter forward without any regard for the objections of the courtiers. This was also one of the important reasons why Yan Song lost the support of all officials.

Although everyone said that Yan Song was dictatorial, in fact the fundamental reason was that in order to ensure the consumption of Emperor Jiajing, Yan Song spared no effort to make money for the court, many of which touched the interests of officials.

As for corruption, it actually doesn’t matter to anyone.

However, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered the fight between Xu Jie and Yan Ne, looked at Zhang Ji who had his head bowed, and asked: 'What changes have been made among the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government in the past few days? ’

"Is the master asking about the capital city or other places?"

Zhang Ji asked carefully.

You know, the officials of the Ming Dynasty actually changed every day. Of course, this refers to those who are not on the stage.

Every day, countless people run into the civil service to seek errands, but only a handful of them are lucky enough to get official positions.

Wei Guangde's question made Zhang Ji confused about what it meant.

"I think you should have paid attention to the changes in Jiangxi, South Zhili and Zhejiang, including the capital, and above the fifth rank."

Wei Guangde said casually.

Zhang Ji lowered his head and thought for a while, then raised his head again and said, "Master, there were many decrees from Nanjing and Nanzhili in the past few days, but not a single decree has appeared in the past few days."

"No?"

Wei Guangde was surprised that Xu Jie was suppressing Yan Ne, and there must be a few people in Yan Ge's pocket.

Even though Yan Ne has been in the cabinet for less than a year, he has served as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel for a long time. It cannot be just a few people.

While Wei Guangde was still in a daze, Zhang Ji's voice sounded again.

"There are no official transfers in the south, but there are changes in the Rites and Staff Departments in the capital."

"Oh, whose order is it?"

Hearing Zhang Ji say that there were changes in the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel in the capital, Wei Guangde suddenly thought of Chen Yiqin.

When Li Fang mentioned Chen Yiqin before, the main reason was that he didn't want Gao Gong to dominate alone.

He cannot be promoted, but if other people from Prince Yu's Mansion can be promoted, they can follow Gao Gong and contribute to Prince Yu's Mansion, and prevent Gao Gong from being the only one who is beautiful. This is Wei Guangde's purpose.

When he said it, he knew that Li Fang understood it.

Sure enough, Zhang Ji's words were exactly what Wei Guangde thought, although there was a slight difference.

"Two days ago, His Majesty had a decree. Chen Yiqin, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, was appointed as the left minister of the headquarters. Gao Yi, the former left minister of the Ministry of Rites, was appointed as the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel."

Shaking his head slightly, Emperor Jiajing was still worried about Prince Yu's palace and was unwilling to transfer Chen Yiqin to the staff department.

As we all know, the Ministry of Rites is a Qingshui yamen. Although it manages many affairs, its actual power is small and far inferior to that of the Ministry of Personnel.

If you serve as a minister in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, you can recruit several local magistrates as your subordinates.

Although the magistrate is not a big official, it seems that he has little influence on Prince Yu's palace. But if the magistrate does well, what kind of officials should be arranged when he is promoted to the capital?

This is the fundamental reason why Wei Guangde wanted to send Chen Yiqin to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Gao Gong had already taken control of the Ministry of Rites, and Wei Guangde thought that Emperor Jiajing would agree to let Chen Yiqin go to the Ministry of Personnel as a minister.

Although I don't know how to get to Prince Yu's Mansion, as long as the goal is achieved, it will be fine.

At this time, a servant suddenly shouted outside the study: "Master, there is a servant of the palace outside who wants to see the housekeeper."

The palace servant wanted to see Zhang Ji. Wei Guangde was stunned for a moment, and then looked at Zhang Ji.

At this time, Zhang Ji was also shocked by these words.

"Master, I don't know. I'm not familiar with the people in the palace."

He is the steward of the Wei Mansion, and he cannot let the master know that he has private contacts with people from Prince Yu's Mansion.

In fact, he really had no personal contact with people in other mansions, except for contact under Wei Guangde's order.

Although he was from a small place, he had been in the capital for so many years, and he had heard about the taboos of the housekeeper in the mansion.

Although he felt strange, Wei Guangde began to nod at Zhang Ji, "You go out and take a look."

"Yes, Master."

At this time, Zhang Ji knew that nothing he said was right. He had to see what the people in Prince Yu's Mansion wanted to ask him, and then quickly come back to tell Wei Guangde everything, so that the matter could be settled.

Zhang Ji hurried out to the front. Fortunately, he was in the mansion, and there were people from the mansion on both sides, so he was not worried about arousing Wei Guangde's suspicion.

Wei Guangde was also wondering why Li Fang asked such an idiot to deliver the letter.

If Zhang Ji had not been brought out by him from Bengshan Fort, Zhang Ji would have been completely finished with what he said just now.

At the beginning, Father Wei sent him a lot of people, all of whom were from the original fort, and knew everything about them. Wei Guangde really didn't worry that they would have any ulterior motives.

Their families were still in Jiujiang, and if he sent a letter back, their families would be in danger.

Up to now, in the entire Wei Mansion, apart from those from Jiujiang, there are only people brought by Madam Xu Jianglan from Duke Wei, and no other people have been hired in the capital.

In fact, they are worried that their origins are unknown and unsafe.

That's how it is. The first clerk he met in the yamen was sent by Jinyiwei.

Wei Guangde estimated that for those who entered the Hanlin Academy, the clerks they could contact were probably trained by Jinyiwei, unless they were replaced by their own people.

These clerks met these Shujishi in humble beginnings, so it was easy to win their trust and let these fledgling officials trust them.

Among the Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy, some of them could enter the cabinet and become prime ministers in the future, so it was always good to plant spies around them as soon as possible.

Jinyiwei was not worried that Shujishi would rebel when they were in power in the future, but to collect their power layout and network of relationships. These were the information that the emperor needed to know when the party struggle was fierce.

Not long after, Zhang Ji came back in a hurry, and wiped a non-existent sweat when he entered the door.

"Master, actually, it was Eunuch Li from the palace who sent someone to pass you a note. The eunuch foolishly thought that you were not in the palace, so he said he wanted to find me."

Zhang Ji walked forward and bowed, holding an envelope in both hands and handed it to Wei Guangde.

"Okay, I see."

Although it was a misunderstanding, Wei Guangde would not comfort him with words, so it was better to put some pressure on Zhang Ji.

He reached out to take the envelope, pulled out the letter inside, frowned after taking a look, and then shook his head gently, sighing in his heart that the old ginger was still spicier. After Xu Jie threatened Yan Ne, he negotiated with Yan Ne and forced Yan Ne to retreat.

There was actually no letter in the envelope, just a note, but the content of the note shocked Wei Guangde.

Tomorrow, Yan Ne, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, will resign to Emperor Jiajing on the grounds of health, and wants to return home to recuperate and take care of his parents.

What the hell is this?

How would Xu Jie, who was over 60, feel when a cabinet minister who had just turned 50 resigned on the grounds of recuperation?

Yan Ne admitted defeat, and should have agreed to Xu Jie's decision to leave the court, but the reason for his choice really made Xu Jie lose face.

Yan Ne's retreat did not make Xu Jie feel good.

This made Wei Guangde feel irritated again.

He knew that Xu Jie would not be far away from leaving the court, which meant that Zhang Juzheng would soon join the cabinet.

Although Zhang Juzheng was also proofreading books in the School Records Office like him, he could be easily transferred out with Xu Jie's support.

Relatively speaking, Wei Guangde's disadvantage in this regard was obvious.

The next day, before Wei Guangde finished reading the first book in the School Records Office, Lu Bu hurried into the room to report to him that Yan Ne, the Prince's Grand Tutor, the Minister of Personnel and the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, had submitted a memorial to resign due to illness and wanted to return to his hometown to recuperate.

Wei Guangde had known this for a long time, but he still acted surprised in front of Lu Bu.

"Do you know what disease Lord Yan is suffering from? Forget it, go outside and ask my driver to come in, I have something to say to him."

Wei Guangde's words were naturally to convey a message to the mansion.

As for what message to convey, is there any need to say it?

Yan Ne asked for sick leave, so Wei Guangde naturally had to visit him at the mansion. No matter what, this was the rule of the officialdom.

Wei Guangde actually had a good relationship with the three cabinet ministers now. Relatively speaking, he now had more time to deal with Xu Jie, but when he was in the Hanlin Academy, he also had a good relationship with Li Chunfang.

As for Yan Ne, he had less contact with him, but it did not prevent him from visiting the patient.

Moreover, such a resignation usually had to be repeated three times before Emperor Jiajing would approve it, showing his generosity to his ministers.

"Yes, sir."

Lu Bu agreed and went out to the front yard to ask the people in Wei's mansion to come in.

That afternoon, Yan Ne's resignation memorial was sent to Yongshou Palace. Emperor Jiajing was silent for a long time in front of this memorial.

Xu Jie has been in the cabinet for a long time, but this person is indeed similar to Yan Song. They are both relatively obedient. Although sometimes they will oppose his orders, such cases are rare.

In the eyes of the emperor, he is a useful talent.

However, being useful does not mean being assured, nor does it mean trusting him.

Yuan Wei, Yan Ne, Li Chunfang and others were quickly promoted because they served wholeheartedly for many years. Emperor Jiajing was more assured of these people with weak foundations in the court.

Letting them enter the cabinet can restrain Xu Jie.

Power can confuse people's eyes. No matter how loyal a person is, he will change after losing his restraint.

It was a pity that Yuan Wei, whom he valued, was so unlucky that he was sick for three months and then died.

Therefore, he could only quickly introduce Yan Ne and Li Chunfang into the cabinet to participate in military affairs, and the purpose was naturally to limit Xu Jie's power.

Although Yan Ne was very good at talking in front of him, which made him like him very much, Yan Ne was still more principled to his subordinates, so Emperor Jiajing was very relieved.

But he didn't expect that he would be defeated by Xu Jie in less than a year.

Disappointment, Emperor Jiajing was really disappointed at this time.

He was happy to see the fight between Xu Jie and Yan Ne, but as for the result, he could also guess that while Yan Ne had Xu Jie's black material, Xu Jie might also have more important news in his hand, which would be enough to make Yan Ne infamous, lose everything, and even worry about his life once it was made public.

Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why Yan Ne would compromise at this time.

What is it?

In fact, Emperor Jiajing didn't care. He was an emperor who was high above everyone else and would not care about the trivial matters between his ministers.

In his opinion, it was not a bad thing to have a lot of black material and be unclean. These handles could be brought out openly when needed, and a faction could be easily destroyed, just like the Yan Song family.

In the imperial society, he could be invincible if he stood on the side of justice.

What he needed was someone who could do things for him and share his worries.

Li Chunfang was a person he was optimistic about. He was talented in writing, but his personality was a bit bad. He was timid in speaking and doing things, and lacked the domineering spirit that a prime minister should have, so his ability to do things was worrying.

And now that Yan Ne had left the court, who should he place in the cabinet?

Gao Gong, the Minister of Rites?

Or Guo Pu, the Minister of Rites?

Emperor Jiajing had some concerns. In fact, both of them were good means to contain Xu Jie, but being optimistic did not mean they were really good.

People in later generations might not pay attention to it, but in the Ming Dynasty, many pieces of information were something that everyone had to remember, that is, their place of origin.

Gao Gong was from Xinzheng, Henan, while Guo Pu was from Anyang, Henan. They were from the same hometown.

As for why Emperor Jiajing was not worried about the three people from Nanzhili, Xu Jie, Yan Ne and Li Chunfang, being in the cabinet at the same time, but was concerned about the two people from Henan, he naturally had his considerations.

In fact, Nanzhili and Beizhili were so large that it was difficult to form so-called township parties because there were too many people who passed the examination.

However, Jiangxi and Zhejiang were different. These two places were the ones he needed to pay close attention to.

Sometimes, the appearance of township parties in the court was also conducive to the operation of the government.

Just like during the Yan Song period, the government did not have any problems because half of the Shangshu were from Jiangxi. The operation was very smooth, all thanks to the high probability that the township parties would not undermine each other and would help each other.

Would the introduction of Gao Gong and Guo Pu lead to another fight with Xu Jie?

In the past, he was happy to do so, but now, what he needed was the stability of the government.

He could feel that his vitality was slipping away, and he was running out of time.