Chapter 635 Chapter 634 All-Out Attack

A few months after Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty in the capital was paralyzed, which no one could have imagined in advance.

The reason for all this was just the fight between Xu Jie, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Gao Gongzhijia, the assistant minister.

This kind of endless fighting may have been planned by Xu Jie when he drafted the Jiajing edict.

In the edict, he not only admitted his faults, although Emperor Jiajing did not seem to have this intention at all during his lifetime, but it was written by Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, and the most important thing was to correct the mistakes he had made before.

All ministers who were convicted for admonishing were to be reinstated if they were still alive, and those who were dead would be given a memorial ceremony, and those who were still in prison would be released immediately and resume their duties.

Xu Jie did all these things that could be bought and won over people's hearts.

As a result, Xu Jie gained a great reputation.

At this time, the huge role of good reputation is also fully reflected.

The vast majority of ministers almost chose to side with the chief minister, and they criticized and impeached Gao Gong one-sidedly, so that the few officials in the court who still supported Gao Gong did not dare to speak out.

It was expected by the court that Zhao Bingran, the Minister of War, returned to his profession due to illness, but at this time, it became clear to them that Zhao Bingran was using this to express his dissatisfaction with Gao Gong.

In the household department of the capital, Ge Shouli has taken over the important task from Gao Yao and started to take care of the household affairs.

However, the time of taking over was too short, and the main affairs of the ministry still relied on Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang, the left and right ministers of the Ministry of Revenue.

Xu Yangzheng, the left minister of the household department, and Gao Gong were old classmates who taught in the same school. They were both Jinshis in Jiajing for 20 years, while Liu Ziqiang, the right minister, was a fellow villager of Gao Gong. Both of them had always been on good terms with Gao Gong.

However, at this time, Xu Yangzheng had already come to check Liu Ziqiang's room, and after retreating, he began to spy.

The reason why they were taught in the same hall was because Xu Yangzheng and Gao Gong entered the Hanlin Academy together after the imperial examination and became shujishi. However, after leaving the academy, Gao Gong was appointed as the editor of the Imperial Academy. After passing the examination in nine years, he was promoted to the Hanlin Academy.

After that, he was sent by Emperor Jiajing to Prince Yu, entered the mansion to teach, and opened his residence to receive scriptures.

But Xu Yangzheng was almost unlucky. After leaving the library, he went to Renhuke to work as a minister.

In the 27th year of Jiajing's reign, Li Rujin and Zha Bingyi of Hu Kedu accused Lianghuai Deputy Envoy Zhang Lu and Yan Shifan of bribery and gain power. Yan Song was angered and was demoted to a post in Haitong County, Yunnan Province. Classic history.

Afterwards, his career was suppressed until the 41st year of Jiajing, when Yan Song and his son were overthrown. Xu once again served as counselor of the Nanjing General Affairs Department, minister of Guanglu Temple, and now Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

After so many years of wandering, he no longer favored his fellow minister Gao Gong. Although he seemed to have a very happy conversation with Gao Gong before and had a close relationship with him, he even more supported the defeat of Yan Song and then presided over it. Xu Jie, who works to bring order out of chaos.

This time, he took the initiative to come to Liu Ziqiang's check-in room to see what the deputy meant.

As for Ge Shouli, he was new here. Given the current trend in the court, Xu Yangzheng did not think that Ge Shouli would support Gao Gong.

"Master Liu, at the court meeting, Yu Zhuan, Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde should have supported the policy of opening up the sea, not necessarily Gao Gong. Do you think they have written a memorial in support of Gao Gong these days?"

Xu Yangzheng did not think that he could impeach Gao Gong alone. He wanted to bring Ge Shouli and Liu Ziqiang together to express his support for Xu Jie and against Gao Gong in the name of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

There were many memorials to impeach Gao Gong before, but most of them were the expression of personal opinions of officials, but now what he wants to do is to express his position through the Yamen of the Ministry of Revenue.

In order to show favor to the chief assistant Xu Jie, or perhaps out of envy and jealousy, he chose to attack Gao Gong at this critical moment.

After all, Gao Gong's official career was so good that it made him feel jealous. They were all from Hanlin, and Gao Gong had already entered the cabinet, but he was destined to be unable to do so.

In this era, the ultimate goal of scholars is still to join the cabinet to realize the so-called wish of "cultivating oneself, harmonizing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world."

For those who support Gao Gong, most of them are Jinshi in the previous subject. Gao Gong, as one of the examiners, is the mentor of many Jinshi in the new subject.

It can be said that Gao Gong's honor and disgrace in the court will directly determine the future future of these people. Whether they are active or passive, they are actually tied to Gao Gong when they participate in the examination.

As for Wei Guangde, he was very lucky. The chief examiner of the examination was Mr. Lu Benlu Ge, who had been recovering at home for several years. He basically didn't care about anything. Naturally, it was their Jinshi who chose to join the forces in the DPRK.

Wei Guangde finally chose to hug Yuwang's thigh tightly. Although the thigh seemed very thin at that time, he succeeded in the end.

As for Gao Gong's fellow villagers, although no one came forward to impeach Gao Gong at this time, most of them did not dare to speak out.

The opposition is too powerful. Even if Xu Yangzheng comes to lobby today, Liu Ziqiang still wants to stay out of the matter.

Yes, most Henan officials in Beijing chose to play ostrich and avoid this dispute.

The commotion was really too big, and Gao Gong had little power to fight back, so he could only hope that Emperor Longqing would favor him and keep his position as a cabinet minister.

"Giff, do you really want to impeach the prime minister?"

Although Liu Ziqiang had always stated that he would not get involved, Liu Ziqiang finally couldn't stand Xu Yangzheng's insistence. He was finally a little moved, but he also had many concerns, "If I remember correctly, he is in the same department as you."

"Yes, Su Qing is my classmate, but what he is doing now has offended the public and the public. Shouldn't he bear responsibility?"

Sighing, Xu Yangzheng continued: "Now the six ministries are not interested in official duties, isn't it all because of this incident? Only when Su Qing leaves the court can the court resume normal operation. I am also thinking about the court."

"Even if I sign the memorial you drafted, and let the treasurer, the doctors and the chief officials under me sign, can you guarantee that Lord Ge will support it?"

Liu Ziqiang's words undoubtedly revealed his intentions. He was tempted and wanted to be consistent with the mainstream public opinion of the court. This is the way to be an official, and he also wants to continue to be an official.

"The people below should not object. Even if someone is unwilling to sign, it actually does not make a difference to the overall situation, so as long as we can persuade Lord Ge, it will be enough."

Xu Yangzheng said with full confidence.

"So what you mean is that we should go to Lord Ge now and let him sign this memorial now, and then let others sign their names as well?"

Liu Ziqiang said hesitantly.

"I think we should sign first."

Xu Yangzheng looked at Liu Ziqiang who had been persuaded, and said lightly: "We and the doctors and chief officials of each department have signed, and then take this memorial to persuade Lord Ge.

He has just arrived, and he should not want to refute the opinions of other people in the yamen. Although he is the Shangshu, he still has to rely on us to do things."

As the saying goes, a new official takes three fires when he takes office. It should be Ge Shouli who tried to pressure the officials of the Ministry of Revenue. But for a new official, before starting these three fires, he generally will not choose to argue with his subordinates because of different opinions. The best choice is to stand with everyone.

Moreover, making this choice now also conforms to public opinion in the court and the public.

"And whether he is with Xu Shoufu or Gao Xiang, it seems that he has nothing to do with it, and there is no interest, so he should choose to be consistent with the Ministry of Revenue."

Xu Yangzheng continued.

Liu Ziqiang thought about it. Although he was reluctant to go against the tide, it seemed that it didn't matter whether the Ministry of Revenue submitted this memorial or not in the current situation.

It seems that only Emperor Longqing can protect Gao Gong.

The ministers' opinions can only influence the emperor, but in the current situation, Emperor Longqing may prefer to support Gao Gong rather than the officials.

Of course, Emperor Longqing will not do this easily, because the result of doing so is that the court will be divided.

Gao Gong cannot beat Xu Jie. If he wants to continue to rise in this position, he must have the support of senior officials.

At this moment, Liu Ziqiang finally made up his mind to turn against Gong and show goodwill to Xu Shoufu.

So, the two of them kept calling their subordinates, the officials of the Qingli Division, in the duty room, asking them to express their opinions and sign the memorial.

When everyone signed their names, the two took the memorial drafted in the name of the Ministry of Revenue to the duty room of Shangshu Ge Shouli.

What happened in the Ministry of Revenue had been spread through some secret channels when Xu and Liu were operating.

Wei Guangde felt a headache when he saw the note brought in by Lu Bu in the duty room.

The news was not collected by his people, but was passed on by a person in charge of the Ministry of Revenue originally arranged by Prince Yu's Mansion.

One by one, the Qinglisi were called to Liu Ziqiang's duty room, and when they came back, people who knew them would naturally discuss the matter.

The Ministry of Revenue, this was something Wei Guangde had never expected. They would be the first to file a memorial in the name of the government office to denounce Gao Gong.

You know, Wei Guangde had learned before that the Ministry of Revenue had just changed the Shangshu, and it was reasonable that it should not rush to participate in the court dispute, and the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue had a close relationship with Gao Gong.

Who would have thought that it was these two people who would secretly take the lead in opposing Gao Gong.

Deserted by everyone.

This was the only word Wei Guangde could think of at this time.

Just two days ago, the palace handed him a note, asking them to find a way to solve the current situation.

How to solve it?

Wei Guangde thought about it all night and felt that he didn't have the ability.

Speaking for Gao Gong means standing on the opposite side of the court and the public, becoming a public enemy of the whole court. Now even Gao Gong's students dare not speak, and his peers are in a similar situation.

Wei Guangde knew that the emperor wanted Yu Ji's people to stand up and support Gao Gong again, but could he do it?

Even if he offended others this time and saved Gao Gong, his impression had been ruined, and the officials in the court and the public would not agree with him.

Such a person, if he continued to stay in the cabinet, could do nothing except being a mascot.

After all, the power of the cabinet was virtual, and the work had to be completed through the six ministries.

Once the cabinet elders lost the support of the six ministries, they were actually being sidelined. It would be better for such people to go back to the cabinet.

Because he would become a time bomb, and it was hard to say when it would explode, and the result would be that the court would be paralyzed again.

Originally, Wei Guangde was still considering whether to contact Yu Ji's old people and submit two memorials to help Gao Gong speak, but after knowing what happened in the Ministry of Revenue today, he finally gave up this plan.

In fact, even if they submitted memorials, in the eyes of the ministers, they were just expressing the emperor's intentions and protecting people, but it was useless.

Xu Jie did not come out to do things, which actually expressed his attitude.

Either he or I.

The court's public opinion decided that Emperor Longqing should either let Xu Jie go home or let Gao Gong leave.

Wei Guangde pondered the wording in his mind. He still planned to pass a note to the palace, analyzing the current situation in detail to Emperor Longqing and asking him to make a choice between Xu Jie and Gao Gong.

Obviously, the cost of dismissing Gao Gong was much smaller than that of dismissing Xu Jie, and the court could resume operation quickly.

As for those officials who jumped the most, Wei Guangde, as the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, said that he could make them get out of the capital after the next year's inspection.

Of course, the highest-ranking officials still had to be dealt with by the emperor, and their personnel relations were not in the hands of the Ministry of Personnel.

After those who opposed Gao Gong left, His Majesty would find an opportunity to recruit Gao Gong back.

He also analyzed the Ministry of Revenue in detail as a case, and told Gao Gong that the current situation of being deserted by his friends and relatives was irreversible.

At this time, outside the duty room of the Minister of Revenue, Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang walked out dejectedly. They lobbied in front of Ge Shouli for an hour, but they still didn't let Ge Shouli, who they thought would be easy to talk to, sign the memorial.

"What should I do?"

Liu Ziqiang was a little confused when he didn't expect this matter to be so difficult.

The entire memorial left a blank at the signature, which was the position they left for the Minister Ge Shouli.

As a memorial expressing the attitude of the Ministry of Revenue, the Shangshu must be the first, followed by Xu Yangzheng and Liu Ziqiang. But now Ge Shouli would rather offend his colleagues in the Ministry of Revenue than sign. This memorial looks like an incongruous "white-headed memorial" with a large blank space for signature.

"What else can I do? It can only be like this."

Xu Yangzheng was very troubled, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't just copy it again and ask the people below to sign it again. At that time, I'm afraid many people would no longer agree to sign it.

In the evening, Wei Guangde was stunned when he got the content of the memorial sent to the cabinet by the Ministry of Revenue in the mansion.

He didn't expect Ge Shouli to dare to defy the world at this time and refuse to denounce Gao Gong. He was the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue. He dared to offend his colleagues before he even sat down.

However, from this, Wei Guangde also felt that Ge Shouli was upright and a capable person. At least he had never opposed the opening of the sea since he entered the capital. He could try more in the future.

As he was committed to entering the cabinet, the officials of the six ministries were worth winning over, or at least building good relations with.

The news that the Ministry of Revenue had submitted a "white-headed memorial" naturally could not be concealed from Xu Jie, who had been resting in the mansion.

After reading the copy sent by Zhang Juzheng, Xu Jie just shook his head and said nothing.

It was just his inner thoughts, even Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting opposite him, had no way of knowing.

After thinking for a while, he had a clear judgment of the current situation in the court, and then looked at Zhang Juzheng and said: "Let Li Zhenyuan submit a memorial, and then let him contact the people of the six ministries and the Censorate to take action together."

"Teacher, are you sure you are going to impeach with all your strength now?"

Zhang Juzheng was still a little hesitant. After all, Emperor Longqing kept the previous memorials in the palace, and issued consecutive decrees to comfort Xu Jie and Li Chunfang, with the purpose of letting them go out of the mansion to do things.

"No need. Most of Yu Ji's people don't like Gao Gong. They haven't made any move yet, which means they won't come forward to protect him. Your Majesty should have a clear understanding and know the seriousness of the situation."

The next morning, Li Zhenyuan, the Imperial Secretary of the Engineering Department, sent a memorial to impeach Gao Gong, the Grand Secretary, to the cabinet, and it fell into the hands of Chen Yiqin.