Chapter 630 629 New Moon and Full Moon

Qi Kang's memorial was purely looking for trouble in Wei Guangde's opinion.

Originally, the issue of opening the sea was to be brought up at the court tomorrow. Even if most people were against it, Gao Gong said a few words in the court, and finally he asked the emperor to take a step back and mention the issue of a pilot project in Fujian.

The livelihood of the people of Fujian was kidnapped, and the officials in Beijing should have accepted it with a pinch of their noses.

If they still opposed it, it would be said that they did not care about the lives of the people of Fujian. Whether in the officialdom or in the literati, they would be criticized.

As a result, Xu Jie and Gao Gong started fighting before the matter was done.

Xu Jie obviously planned before taking action, and Gao Gong, who was originally in a sure win, made a series of stupid moves. I really don't know why his cleverness in the past was gone.

Think about it, Xu Jie will go back to his house to write a self-defense in the court tomorrow. Without Xu Jie, the court meeting will be delayed according to the character of Li Chunfang, the deputy assistant.

Wei Guangde has a headache.

However, Wei Guangde was also interested in Xu Zhi, the former Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Justice, and could not understand why he reported to his brother.

Although his classmate Li Chunfang entered the cabinet and became the second assistant, he was the first place in the imperial examination selected by Emperor Jiajing, while Xu Zhi was only the second place.

Although the ranking is not bad, it is really incomparable.

Compared with other classmates, his current official position is actually not low, at least it is the third rank.

Behind this, if there is no secret care from Xu Jie, it would be impossible.

In fact, many of the Jinshi of the 26th year of Jiajing are only the fifth rank, or even lower.

The officialdom is a place where seniority is ranked. Unless you are valued by the people above and promoted by exception, you will have to endure it for three, six, and nine years to slowly rise.

Wei Guangde really didn't know about Xu Zhi's impeachment of Xu Jie before, because at that time he was still devoted to the school registrar, so how could he care about this so-called "official business" caused by family affairs.

Don't think Xu Zhi is selfless and puts justice above personal interests. There are too few officials in the Ming Dynasty who are truly honest and dedicated.

Even Wei Guangde, who has received education from later generations, has to consider integrating into the Ming Dynasty officialdom in this era, otherwise he will not be able to continue his job.

There are actually many things going wrong in the temporary institution without power and influence, the Proofreading and Recording Office. As the director of the Proofreading and Recording Office, he has to find ways to help conceal them.

In the later period, the court's money was filled in the re-recording ceremony, just to complete the transcription work before the burial of Emperor Jiajing. No one would care what happened in the middle. They only looked at the results.

He didn't care about Hai Rui's ending.

Wei Guangde was awakened before dawn the next day. He was really not used to going to court.

He was dazed and was helped to put on his clothes by the maid.

His wife Xu Jianglan was pregnant again, so she naturally couldn't get up to serve, but the Wei family still had a lot of maids.

After eating a little, Wei Guangde left the house and got on the carriage to rush to the palace.

Fortunately, Emperor Longqing was lazy, so he just ignored the daily small court meetings and only kept the big court meetings on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. Otherwise, it would be boring to be an official.

Hundreds of officials gathered outside the palace gate. Wei Guangde stood among the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, and next to him were officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue.

He and Yin Shizhan looked at each other, and then looked at the place where the cabinet ministers and the six ministries and nine officials were in front.

Gao Gong had already arrived and stood in front.

However, among the cabinet ministers, only Xu Jie was not present. After all, he had already submitted a petition to return yesterday. No matter how Emperor Longqing approved it, he could not come here.

There were censors walking around outside to monitor. Although they had not entered the palace yet, they still required meticulous court etiquette.

At this time, a person in the team walked out later and whispered something to the side of the deputy assistant Li Chunfang. Then Li Chunfang and his memorial team went to the side.

The censors around him turned a blind eye and pretended nothing happened.

After all, the person next to Li Chunfang was their immediate superior, Wang Ting, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. He must have something important to discuss by pulling the deputy assistant aside.

Not long after, Li Chunfang waved to call other cabinet ministers, and soon the six ministries and nine officials were also called over.

Wei Guangde knew that Wang Ting must have reported Qi Kang's impeachment of Xu Jie to the deputy assistant.

If this matter is not handled well, it will cause a big uproar, and Li Chunfang can see it clearly.

Yesterday, Li Chunfang heard about the rumors from the outside world in the evening. He also guessed that this was Xu Jie's strategy to win over more supporters and pretend to be pitiful first.

The court meeting is about to start. Whether this memorial will be brought out at the court meeting or after the court meeting is worth studying.

Yesterday, Li Chunfang also understood the Emperor Longqing's plan and was a little tempted.

If the memorial impeaching Xu Jie was brought out at the court meeting today, I'm afraid that all the ministers in the court would feel a sense of common hatred against the enemy, and as a result, some people who originally supported Gao Gong would temporarily change their positions and support the poor prime minister.

Look, he was forced to cite illness and return home, but they still didn't let him go, and they impeached him.

Moreover, Qi Kang mentioned the matter of Xu Zhi in his memorial, which took a lot of effort to suppress. After all, it would have a bad impact if it was mentioned.

If this memorial was exposed to the officials now, it might not be so easy to cover up.

Li Chunfang hated Qi Kang in his heart at this moment, and he was always causing trouble.

How to deal with this matter, Wei Guangde thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution. When the news spread, it was a big uproar.

No one dared to hide anything about this matter, so Wei Guangde did nothing.

Gao Gong, Guo Pu, Chen Yiqin and others gathered there, and the officials of the six ministries were also there.

Wei Guangde estimated that Gao Gong must be in a bad mood at this time, Qi Kang was really too reckless.

The news could not be concealed. If it was not made clear now, it was unknown how the officialdom would spread this matter after the court session.

The key was that the time was very sensitive, and the person who made the memorial was also very sensitive. At a glance, people would think that it was Gao Gong who instructed it and was taking revenge on Xu Jie.

After talking for a long time, it seemed that there was no result.

Not long after, Chen Yiqin suddenly left the crowd and walked over here, but he did not come to Wei Guangde, but stood on the side of the officials of the Ministry of Personnel.

The distance was relatively close, and Wei Guangde also heard what Chen Yiqin said, asking the Minister of Rites to go over as well.

Wei Guangde also observed Zhang Juzheng at this time. He was standing in the crowd, and he seemed to be calm all the time.

Although he could not see his expression clearly, Wei Guangde felt that with Xu Jie's strength in the court, it was possible that he knew the news last night, and Zhang Juzheng might have known it in advance, so he was like this.

Thinking about it carefully, Qi Kang felt like an undercover sent by Xu Jie, who stabbed Gao Gong in the back at a critical moment.

Thinking that something that had been planned for many years would fail again today, Wei Guangde felt unwilling.

After Yin Shizeng walked out, Wei Guangde quickly followed him and whispered in Yin Shizeng's ear: "If it is Qi Kang's matter, don't say it at the court meeting. After the court meeting, the royal court and the cabinet ministers will report to your majesty."

After speaking quickly, Wei Guangde returned to the ranks of the Ministry of Personnel. He believed that Yin Shizeng understood what he meant.

Although the officials sympathized with Xu Jie's experience, as long as there was no memorial from Qi Kang at this time, everyone's mood would not be so bad, and the opening of the sea would still have a chance to pass.

Xu Jie's absence just happened to allow him to avoid this matter, and Xu Jie probably wished for it.

Prime Minister, it is not a good thing to offend the emperor too much.

Wei Guangde didn't know what was said over there, it was too far away, he couldn't hear it, but when Yin Shizhen came back and stood beside him, he saw Yin Shizhen nodded slightly at him.

"Uncle, do you have any objections?"

Wei Guangde couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Yin Shizhen just shook his head and didn't answer.

At today's court meeting, as long as Zhang Juzheng didn't come out to disrupt the situation, there might be a chance.

Although Wei Guangde initially thought that the chance of passing today was 50-50, he just thought about it and found that Xu Jie's absence could actually increase the chances of winning.

After all, the Prime Minister's statement has a great influence on all officials. If he is not there, Li Chunfang will speak out, but he has no opinion.

Maybe it will become an opportunity that is not an opportunity.

However, today, when I lined up here from the court room, I felt that the waiting time was too long.

Wei Guangde was wondering in his heart, and the drum sounded at the Meridian Gate at the right time, and the flag school of the official army who had been waiting in line for a long time entered first.

They were the royal guards, so they naturally had to go in first to form a good formation.

After a while, the bell in the bell tower rang, and the officials who had already lined up began to move forward and went to court through the left and right gates.

The officials entered the palace, the civil officials entered from the left gate, and the military officials entered from the right gate. They first arranged themselves again according to their ranks on the south of the Jinshui Bridge.

After the whip was blown, they crossed the bridge in turn and arrived at the Danchi of Fengtian Gate. The civil officials were the left class and the military officials were the right class. They stood facing each other on the two sides of the imperial road.

The door of Fengtian Hall was open, and the band of the bell and drum department was on the left and right of the steps. The "Da Han generals" were lined up between the steps of the hall, wearing full uniforms and armor. On the left and right of the imperial road and behind the civil and military officials, there were lieutenants holding swords.

At this time, all officials stood respectfully, and the imperial censors in charge of inspection were supervising at the side. Anyone who coughed, spit, crowded or had improper manners would be recorded and dealt with as a breach of etiquette after the meeting.

However, Wei Guangde always felt that today seemed to be a little later than usual, but he didn't bring a watch, so he didn't know if he felt it wrong.

In fact, he really didn't feel it wrong. Today's time was indeed a little later than the stipulated time, because Emperor Longqing stayed in bed.

In order not to let people find out that the emperor was lazy, he could only adjust the clepsydra a little later.

Li Fang, Chen Ju and others naturally disdained to do these dirty and tiring jobs, but there were always other people around the emperor.

After waiting for a while, the bell and drum department finally started playing music, which also meant that the emperor had arrived at the imperial gate.

Sure enough, Wei Guangde saw the Jinyiwei strongmen holding five umbrellas and four round fans, climbing up the Danchi from the east and west sides, and standing on the left and right behind the throne. There were two eunuchs, one holding an umbrella and standing on the seat, and the other holding a "military equipment" and two fans, standing in the middle behind the seat.

The imperial sedan chair that Emperor Longqing rode also appeared surrounded by a group of eunuchs. After passing the imperial road to the platform in front of the Fengtian Hall, Emperor Longqing got off the sedan chair and stepped into the Fengtian Hall.

After the emperor sat on the throne, he whipped again, and the Honglu Temple "sang" to enter the class. The left and right civil and military classes walked side by side into the imperial road. At this time, the civil officials "faced north and west", and the military officials "faced north and east", and performed the ceremony of bowing and knocking three times.

In fact, if it was normal, the emperor would not enter the Fengtian Hall. The throne was set in the middle of the corridor of the Fengtian Hall, and the court officials all knelt down on the stage, which was different from what everyone saw on TV in later generations.

Only in windy and rainy weather would it be moved to the hall. At this time, low-ranking officials would not participate. Only officials above the fifth rank could enter the Fengtian Hall, but now it is called the Huangji Hall.

Many halls and pavilions in the palace were renamed at the end of the 41st year of Jiajing, so for most court officials, they were actually more familiar with the old hall names.

In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, court meetings were mainly divided into the following three types: one was the big court; the second was the new moon and full moon court; and the third was the regular court.

The so-called grand court refers to the court held on major festivals such as the first day of the lunar month, the winter solstice and the emperor's birthday. In such a court, all civil and military officials will present congratulations, and the surrounding vassal states will also send envoys to express their gratitude. It is a courtesy court.

The first or fifteenth day of each month, all officials will perform official uniforms and salute, which is also a ceremonial nature. Only the "court congratulation ceremony" is performed. Like the grand court, generally no introduction is made to report matters.

The grand court and the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, the ceremony will be held in the Fengtian Hall.

The real handling of government affairs is the regular court. According to the literal meaning, it is the most common court meeting, which is usually divided into morning court and evening court. However, under normal circumstances, the evening court is abandoned, so the regular court is only the morning court.

However, the location of the regular court is not in the Fengtian Hall, but the throne is set in the middle of the corridor of the Fengtian Hall, which is also called "sitting court".

If it is held in the hall, it is called "sitting in the hall".

In addition, there is also "holding court at the imperial gate", which is held on the Fengtian Gate Tower, and all officials kneel down under the tower. Of course, it can also be held at other gates, but Fengtian Gate is often chosen because the tower here is tall and more imposing.

In addition, in the early Ming Dynasty, regular courts were often held in the side hall inside Zuoshun Gate.

However, Emperor Jiajing did not attend court for more than 20 years, and Emperor Longqing almost abolished the regular courts, so the first and fifteenth courts became the only opportunity for Beijing officials to report to the emperor outside of etiquette.

After discussing this matter, the cabinet also nodded in agreement, but the matters reported by all officials needed to be reported to the cabinet one day in advance.

Wei Guangde mixed in the ranks of civil servants. His current official position as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel is not low, but there are several cabinet ministers and six ministers and five temple ministers in front of him. He just took the front position in the middle of the crowd who were qualified to enter the palace.

Only officials of the fourth rank and above could enter the Huangji Hall to stand, while officials of the fifth rank and below could only stand outside the hall. As they stood in position, Wei Guangde shouted "May the Holy Body Be Blessed" and performed five bows and three kowtows while the officials of the Honglu Temple sang praises.

After the ceremony, Wei Guangde looked up at Emperor Longqing. He wore a leather cap with a sharp top and black gauze, with twelve seams in front and back, and each seam was decorated with twelve colorful jades. He wore a crimson gauze dress, knee-length cap, leather belt, large belt, white socks and black shoes.

In the past, the court meeting would end at this time, because the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month did not discuss matters, and the cabinet would generally not approve officials to report matters at this time, but asked them to write memorials and assign them.

But Emperor Longqing said in the cabinet yesterday that today they would discuss the proposal of Fujian Governor Tu Zemin to open the sea, so naturally they could not leave the court like this.

After the eunuch shouted "I have something to report", Li Chunfang, the deputy assistant, turned his head and glanced at Zhao Bingran, the Minister of War. Zhao Bingran then coughed softly, then quickly stepped out and said, "I have a report to report."