Chapter 626 Chapter 625 Preparation

Xu Jie didn't even exert any force, but those in the capital officials who wanted to speculate had already taken action and began to impeach Tu Zemin and Gao Gong.

But no one was surprised. Even during the Jiajing Dynasty, when this happened, all the officials behaved like this. Even if they were beaten by the royal stick for it, everyone was still happy with it.

The opposition from the officials below became more severe, but Xu Jie was not in a hurry. He was always on the side of the general trend, but he was just trying to show off. After all, he was the chief assistant.

Not long after, the six ministers and the censor Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate came to the cabinet one after another. Each of them also brought many memorials from the ministry officials and asked them to bring them.

As the Minister of Rites, Gao Yi still had to sit upright on this matter, and he was an official in Zhejiang, so as soon as he put the memorial on the desk, he complained to Xu Jie: "Master Chief Minister, this painting It is the governor's right to petition for a maritime ban, but you are always the chief minister of the cabinet, why can't you stick to the ancestral system and just deny it, let's see."

As he spoke, he pointed to the pile of memorials and said: "These are the memorials from my Ministry of Rites. They are all against the sea ban. Is it worth making such a big fuss?"

"Zixiang, please sit down first. Fujian affairs still need to be considered in the long term. Fujian is not as wealthy as Zhejiang. In recent years, most of the Japanese pirates have come from Fujian. Governor Tu also came up with this strategy for the sake of the imperial court. Regardless of whether it is right or wrong, it is What he thinks is possible."

Xu Jie replied with a smile.

"I think he just wants to disrupt the court. Look, there are so many objections in just one day. If you don't ask your Majesty to reject Governor Tu's proposal as soon as possible, I'm afraid the trouble below will get worse and it will be difficult to control. ”

Gaoyi said.

"Gao Shangshu, Governor Tu's suggestion is also to eliminate the Japanese pirates along the coast. How can you say that you want to mess up the court?"

Gao Gong couldn't stand it. Gao Yi came in with a gun-toting tone and was targeting him everywhere. If he could bear this tone, Gao Gong would no longer be Gao Gong.

"As for why you are so opposed, everyone is understanding. Do you have to let me speak out?"

Of course Gao Gong had heard about the pirates along the coast. In fact, the first ones to cause trouble were maritime merchants from Zhejiang. If he hadn't seduced them, how could they have caused such a big trouble in the Jiajing Dynasty.

In the past, everyone was concerned about the friendship between colleagues and did not talk about it in the court, but if Gao Yi was messing around, Gao Gong didn't mind making the matter known to the world.

What's more, if it weren't for the shameless things of the Xie Qian family, there would have been a tragedy of Japanese pirates annihilating the family, which would have made Emperor Sejong angry and severely banned the sea.

Gao Yi was speechless for a moment when he heard Gao Gong's threatening words.

This matter is not a battle of loyalty. Last night, some fellow Zhejiang people came to his house, hoping that he would express his firm opposition to Fujian's policy of opening up the sea in the court.

Why, because only by banning the sea can their maritime merchants make huge profits.

If a place opens to the sea, merchants will flock there to do business, and the Zhejiang maritime merchants will have a difficult life.

I have no choice but to go across provinces to Fujian to do business.

As someone who is unfamiliar with the place, I went to Fujian and had to reorganize my relationship with the officialdom. I was afraid that I didn’t know how much money I would need to put in.

As for Gao Gong's threatening words, if they were really spoken out in the court, it would be troublesome for those businessmen from Zhejiang to stay in the Ming Dynasty, let alone go to Fujian.

"Huh, I'm just talking about the matter. I'm afraid that if something doesn't shake off, just because of Tu Zemin's memorial, today all the officials from the Ministry of Rites came to my room to ask how the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites should work."

"If that's the case, then sit down and talk quietly. Don't come in with a gun and a stick."

Guo Pu also spoke at this time.

Although the Six Ministers are not afraid of cabinet ministers, it is still a bit overwhelming to face two of them at once. The key is that the old god Xu Jie is sitting there and has no intention of helping, and Gao Yi does not intend to fight with Gao Gong here. , Guo Pu argued that it would be better to wait for a while before everyone arrived.

Not long after, Xu Jie's desk was filled with memorials.

Fortunately, everyone had simply classified these before coming, and separated those for support and opposition. However, the opinions of the court officials were also reflected at once. The disparity ratio of 9:1 made Gao Gong and others look even worse. .

"I invite you all to come to the cabinet today just for the sake of what happened yesterday. I can't say enough. I can only talk about the cabinet's requirements. Everyone's yamen must be managed well and official duties cannot be delayed. Otherwise, everyone will lose face during the inspection in Beijing this year."

Xu Jie said calmly.

"Official affairs of the imperial court cannot be delayed. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will pay attention to the situation of each government office during this period."

Yang Bo was a smart man and answered immediately, echoing Xu Jie's words.

Nodding, Xu Jie continued: "Ignore the other yamen for now. As long as the Six Ministries and the Metropolitan Procuratorate are not in chaos, the court can run smoothly. This is also the purpose of inviting you here today.

Discussions are allowed, but cliques and cliques are not allowed, and officials are prohibited from collaborating in private to cause trouble. "

Yang Boneng has always been a high-ranking official from the Jiajing Dynasty to the Longqing Dynasty, so he naturally has a good ability to adapt to the wind.

Gao Gong had spoken for him before and rebuked Ke Dao. In addition, he had a relationship with Prince Yu, so he and Gao Gong had been very close for a while.

However, after he discovered some shortcomings of Gao Gong, he finally gave up Gao Gong decisively and chose to support Xu Jie.

After all, Shanxi officials still need a big boss like him to protect them from wind and rain.

Here, I have to say that Yang Bo's way of doing things is really nothing to say.

When Yan Song was in power, he could sit with Yan Shifan and have a drink, and they could chat without any taboos. During this period, his relationship with Xu Jie and others was also handled very well.

After the fall of the Yan family, he extended an olive branch to Prince Yu's palace at the right time and showed his goodwill to Prince Yu by satisfying the requests of Wei Guangde and others.

Exquisite on all sides, nothing more than that.

The key point is that as an official of the Liubu Hall, he already plays an important role in the court, but his secret favoring of his fellow villagers was successfully hidden from most of the courtiers until he was discovered by the sharp-eyed Ke Dao, which almost caused a major accident.

But even so, there are still people in the government who are willing to help him excuse himself and suppress the officials of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Assessing the situation and knowing who to turn to in order to obtain the greatest benefits is a very good foresight.

"Lord Wang."

At this time, Xu Jie turned to look at Wang Ting and said: "You have to do your best to take care of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Not only do you want them not to cause trouble, but you also need to mobilize the censor to detect illegal activities such as collusion and conspiracy among hundreds of officials. ”

Tang officials can evaluate their subordinates' ability to perform tasks. The sword of the Ministry of Personnel can affect the promotion of officials, but the one that is really most lethal to officials is the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

As long as the censor can be stabilized, other yamen officials will not dare to make mistakes.

If anyone does not act according to the rules, a letter of impeachment from the censor can make him miserable, or even end his career.

Xu Jie was not afraid that Emperor Longqing would delay the matter, which would only accumulate resentment in the hearts of the officials. At that time, with a little incitement, the crater would erupt against the high arch.

In fact, what he fears most now is that the emperor rejects Tu Zemin's memorial, then all the backup plans he prepared will be ineffective.

He is not afraid of Gao Gong's retreat. As long as he expresses Tu Zemin's political opinions from time to time and is beneficial to the government, Gao Gong's character will choose to stick to his own opinion and even understand his opposition to this matter as the chief minister.

"If you have any flaws, you might as well think more about whether Governor Tu's opinions are effective in dealing with the Japanese invasion. Compared with the use of troops from the north and the south, it will be difficult for the Ministry of Household Affairs to support them."

"What Mr. Chief Assistant said is absolutely true, I am at the Ministry of Household Affairs."

When talking about the imperial finances, Gao Yao, the Minister of Household Affairs, also took over Xu Jie's words and expressed his bitterness.

When Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, in addition to granting amnesty to the whole world, he also issued large-scale rewards and arranged the funeral of the late emperor. As much money as the internal treasury could provide, the remaining leaks were filled with money from the Ministry of Household Affairs.

The current Ministry of Household Affairs can really run away from mice.

After all, if these rituals were downgraded because of money, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty would still blame him, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, not to mention the suffering of the Ministry of Revenue.

I really grit my teeth and had to get the job done. The little money I had accumulated in the past two years was all gone, and I had to borrow a sum of money from Chang Yingku to get the job done.

If Tu Zemin's suggestion is really effective, the military in the south can save at least hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, allowing Nanjing to transfer to the capital, and Chang Yingku's loan can also be repaid.

He really didn't dare to withhold the money sent to Jiubian now, for fear of mutiny again.

When something like this happened at the beginning of the new emperor's accession to the throne, although the Ministry of War would take responsibility, the Ministry of Household Affairs could not make things right.

Wei Guangde was on duty at the Ministry of Civil Affairs when he heard the call and went to Yang Bo's duty.

"Master Yang, Master Zhao. I received an urgent message from Huguang before I came, so I had to delay it."

Wei Guangde arrived late because he had a document in his hand that needed to be read. When he came in, Zhao Zhenji, the left minister, was already waiting for him in the room.

"It doesn't matter."

Yang Bo waved his hand and said, "I called you two here today because of the Fujian incident. Today I am going to the cabinet."

Yang Bo told the chief assistant Xu Jie what he meant, and asked them to pay attention to controlling the officials in each department.

"Sir, this is fine if they are in the Yamen, but after the Yamen are dismissed, how can we control where they are going?"

Zhao Zhenji frowned and said.

"It's really hard to do at this time, but just talk to the doctor and chief below and understand their movements. If someone really wants to cause trouble, as long as you know the news beforehand, you can freely detain them in the yamen."

Yang Bo chuckled.

Wei Guangde understood Yang Bo's plan and the thoughts of the officials below. If there were really bad signs, he would just find an excuse to let them work overtime in the yamen.

If you dare to disobey orders, there are ways to deal with them.

Wei Guangde also heard about the situation outside today from people in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The General Affairs Department has been busy since it opened in the morning. It is said that many officials are queuing up to submit memorials.

Opposing the revision of the ancestral system is the general trend. Fortunately, King Yu did not directly agree to it before. Otherwise, the Sixth Section and the Cabinet would directly refute the imperial edict. By then, the emperor would have no place to show his face, and his trust in himself would also be lost. That's the end.

While I was feeling happy, I also thought about the two letters that should be sent out today. One was sent to Fujian, asking Tu Zemin to continue to discuss the issue of Shukaihai and list the actual situation in Fujian.

Such a memorial will help Beijing officials know the situation in Fujian. Even if they oppose it for the sake of opposition, they can at least understand that Tu Zemin's request to open the sea is justified.

Wei Guangde didn't dare to guarantee that he could protect Tu Zemin for the rest of his life.

Let Beijing officials know the poverty situation of the people in Fujian and let them know that there is little land in Fujian and many people can only live by handicrafts. The domestic market of the Ming Dynasty cannot meet their supply and there is an urgent need to expand overseas markets.

Although these sub-officials may not understand the economy or the role of the export-oriented economy, they know that if the people want to survive, they can only open the sea ban and sell things to overseas businessmen, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment.

Letting the people live and work in peace and contentment is the principle followed by officials in this era.

It is said that if an official does not serve the people, he might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes. No matter how they become officials, this is the purpose of their official duties.

As for the other letter, it was naturally sent to Tan Lun in Guangdong. Wei Guangde was not sure whether his first letter had persuaded him, so he wrote him another letter to urge him to see if he could make this happen.

In Zhejiang, the connection with the Japanese pirates was too deep, and he had lost interest in contacting them.

In the following time, Wei Guangde kept summoning the doctors and officials of the Ministry of Personnel's Inspection and Merit Department and the Ministry of Examination and Merit Department to talk with them and understand what they thought in their hearts. He wrote down those who held more radical ideas in a small notebook, and these were all to be closely watched.

As for the Ministry of Literature and the Ministry of Seals, they were the departments in charge of Zhao Zhenji and had nothing to do with him.

In the Ming Dynasty, although the Ministry of Rites was noble and closest to the Cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel was definitely the most powerful among the six ministries, because it directly controlled the official hats of the world, so no one would dare to offend the officials of the Ministry of Personnel easily.

Among the four departments of the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Selection and the Ministry of Examination had the greatest power.

The full name of the Ministry of Selection was the Ministry of Selection and Purification, which was responsible for the establishment and grades of all civil officials at the central and local levels, as well as the selection, promotion and transfer of officials.

Therefore, the Ministry of Selection was responsible for selecting officials. When there was a shortage of people in the central and local positions, the Ministry of Selection would start to select people. This was quite lucrative in ancient times, especially in dynasties with a mature bureaucratic system. He basically had the final say on who would serve where, and he could rank first.

This most lucrative job has always been managed by the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Wei Guangde, the Right Vice Minister, could only drool on the side, but could do nothing.

Even though Zhao Zhenji was an official who had just returned to the court, Wei Guangde could not easily interfere in the affairs of the Ministry of Selection.

It is worth mentioning that Zhao Zhenji is also a fellow villager of Chen Yiqin. He was dismissed from office in the 40th year of Jiajing because he offended Yan Song, and was recalled in the Longqing Dynasty. This was naturally influenced by Xu Jie's reversal of the case and Chen Yiqin's secret efforts. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to sit in this position as soon as he returned to the court.

Although the Examination Office managed by Wei Guangde is not as influential as the Selection Office, it is not small.

The Examination Office is responsible for the performance assessment of officials, the promotion, demotion and dismissal of officials. All internal and external officials are given a preliminary examination in three years and a re-examination in six years. They are also invited to take a comprehensive examination every nine years, and they are requested to promote or demote them based on their competence, mediocreness, and incompetence. The promotion is not more than the second grade, and the demotion is not more than the third grade. The worst ones are demoted or punished.

Although they cannot select officials, they are in charge of the hats of officials. If they are given an "incompetent" evaluation, this official will be finished.

Sitting in this position, Wei Guangde certainly would not accomplish nothing. In fact, he has already begun to screen and identify Xu Jie's disciples, especially those who are in hiding.

As for the purpose, it is naturally to prepare to counter Xu Jie when necessary, and to take action against anyone involved in the preliminary examination, re-examination, or even the general examination.