Chapter 669 Chapter 668 The Liao King's Affairs
The next day, Wei Guangde saw the copy of Zhang Juzheng's Memorials and Emperor Longqing's imperial review in the Ministry of Rites.
After seeing at the end that "the ministry will watch and hear the discussion", Wei Guangde knew that Zhang Juzheng's memorial ended without any problem.
Although I don't know if others have discovered the smell of gunpowder in Zhang Juzheng's memorial, Wei Guangde believes that he is not the only smart person in the world, and there should be someone who can discover the hidden meaning.
Of course, Wei Guangde's guess might be that he was wrong, and Zhang Juzheng had no such intention at all.
But this is not important. What is important is that he believes that he will not be the only one who thinks of it.
Just as Wei Guangde thought, after the memorial was issued, there was a lot of discussion between the government and the public. There were some supporters, some doubters, and more calm ones.
For a moment, the attention of the court officials seemed to be attracted by "Chen Liu Shi Shu".
However, as Wei Guangde thought, although everyone discussed a lot, no Yamen reported what they discussed.
This also shows that what Wei Guangde thought at the beginning was right. Everyone was not stupid, and they all more or less felt something was wrong from the memorial.
Even the "king of loudmouths" in the court in the past, such as the Kedao Yanguan, no one spoke out for this, neither supporting nor refuting.
According to Zhang Juzheng, both the censor and the minister can only discuss the matter as it is, and cannot criticize politics as freely as before. Moreover, they have to come up with solutions after the discussion. How can these "talkers" live?
Since the six departments and other yamen remained silent, they were naturally not stupid, and instinctively agreed with the cold treatment attitude of their colleagues.
But what surprised Wei Guangde the most was that Zhang Juzheng seemed to have returned to normal after submitting this memorial. It seemed that there was no such thing, and he didn't know whether he was frustrated or something else.
The Ming Dynasty court quickly returned to its original state, with Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin handling government affairs step by step, and of course Zhang Juzheng.
Li Chunfang is a good old man, Chen Yiqin talks little and does little, and Zhang Juzheng hates fighting. Although he still has the intention to do something, he has little status in the cabinet.
The cabinet under the leadership of Li Chunfang is lifeless and lacks courage.
But if the emperor didn't say anything, Li Chunfang would do nothing.
Perhaps, from Zhang Juzheng's perspective, both Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were complacent in advancing and retreating gracefully.
If the cabinet is like a stagnant pool, it is even less possible to expect the morale of each yamen to be boosted and make progress.
Coupled with the decline of discipline over the years, the laxity of laws and regulations, and the proliferation of empty words and nonsense, the entire court seemed lifeless.
But at this time, a memorial from Huguang broke the tranquility of the court.
"The first assistant and the second assistant should take a look at this memorial."
In the duty room of Li Chunfang in the cabinet, Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial he had just received and handed it to Li Chunfang.
"What memorial?"
Reaching out to take it, Li Chunfang didn't forget to ask.
"The Huguang patrol impeached the King of Liao for lawlessness according to the memorial of Chen Sheng, the censor."
Zhang Juzheng answered calmly.
"King of Liao?"
Li Chunfang frowned when she heard Zhang Juzheng's words.
Although they, the ministers, are not afraid of this group of people in the clan, they also know that they are very difficult to deal with.
Emperor Yongle took away the rights of these people, and then allowed them to feed the common people. As long as they did not rebel or cause anger and resentment, the local authorities basically turned a blind eye.
Now someone finally couldn't help but file a petition for impeachment. It can be seen that the King of Liao must have done all kinds of bad things now, and the local authorities couldn't bear it anymore.
After opening the memorial and browsing it quickly, Li Chunfang frowned. What was said in the memorial was indeed a bit excessive.
"The king of Liao was cruel, abusive and indulgent, or believed in Fu Shui. Many treacherous young scoundrels returned to him and did whatever they wanted."
What Li Chunfang is actually concerned about is not "sexual cruelty, abuse, or indulgence", but "most of the treacherous young scoundrels will return there."
The most taboo thing in the palace is that the feudal king accepts such ruffians and associates with bandits. As for why, everyone knows what is going on.
He handed the memorial to Chen Yiqin, who quickly read it.
His attitude was actually similar to Li Chunfang's. He was very worried about the King of Liao gathering local gangsters, and then the two of them looked at Zhang Juzheng.
"How does uncle want to deal with it?"
Chen Yiqin asked.
In fact, they had already made a plan in mind, and they still followed the previous regulations, which was to send ministers to the Liao Palace to investigate and verify the situation, and then see whether and what crime should be punished.
However, the current location of the Liao Palace is in Jiangling, and Zhang Juzheng is also from Jiangling, which makes them have to consider Zhang Juzheng's position.
"I'd better avoid this matter and let the two pavilion bosses make the decision."
What surprised them was that Zhang Juzheng actually asked to recuse himself and the matter was up to them.
Since Zhang Juzheng chose to follow the court's system, they had nothing to worry about.
"Yifu, ask the Ministry of Justice to send someone to verify?"
Li Chunfang said, seemingly asking for advice.
"That's right. I remember last year, it seemed that Huguang's Inspector-General Gao Guangxian had also petitioned for impeachment. It's okay to ask the Huguang's Inspector-General to also participate."
Chen Yiqin replied casually as if he was reminiscing.
"Indeed, at the beginning of the first year of Longqing, Huguang's envoy Gao Guangxian also impeached the King of Liao for lawlessness. At that time, His Majesty issued an edict."
Zhang Juzheng said.
Li Chunfang nodded, seemingly unaware, while Chen Yiqin just glanced at Zhang Juzheng in surprise, obviously surprised that he knew so much about the matter.
You know, the cabinet ministers deal with so many cases every day. For such things, they usually forget them within two months after dealing with them. He only has a vague impression.
"This matter should be investigated by the officials as soon as possible. After all, it has been delayed for a long time and some things are difficult to verify."
Zhang Juzheng reminded again.
Li Chunfang stroked his beard and agreed: "During the period of the late emperor's funeral, it is indeed necessary to find out the truth as soon as possible. Those who should be punished should be punished, and if it is false, they should be cleared of the charges."
As he said, Li Chunfang looked at Chen Yiqin.
"Okay, then I will draft it now and send it to the palace later."
Chen Yiqin understood what Li Chunfang meant and said immediately.
In fact, the cabinet has dealt with many impeachments of the royal family, but few of them directly pointed the finger at the princes.
Since Emperor Jiajing dealt with many relatives and princes in succession, the royal family who were rampant and lawless have been very honest for a while.
In the past two years, the royal family has been guilty of crimes again, but most of them are low-level royal family members such as generals and lieutenants in the royal palace, and the handling is also very simple.
Punishment and demotion.
As long as it does not involve the royal title, basically no one in the court or outside has much to say.
The memorial was sent to the Qianqing Palace on the same day, and Emperor Longqing's instructions were also very quick, check.
Immediately, the court sent Hong Chaoxuan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Shi Duchen, the deputy envoy of the Huguang Provincial Surveillance Department, to Jiangling to investigate the matter.
Hong Chaoxuan set out from the capital, and the journey was long, so he was naturally one step behind Shi Duchen.
But it doesn't matter, anyway, it's just based on Chen Sheng's accusation, and in the end Hong Chaoxuan will check the witnesses and material evidence in court.
Although this incident made Chen Yiqin a little surprised at Zhang Juzheng's attitude, he didn't take it seriously.
You know, when Zhang Juzheng was in his teens, he was praised as a "child prodigy" in Jiangling. For such a family, Chen Yiqin didn't think that anyone in Jiangling would go against them.
Even if the King of Liao was blind, he shouldn't have the courage to fall out with someone who might become an official in the court.
Although civil officials could do nothing about the royal family, it was very uncomfortable to submit impeachments every day and be scolded by angels sent by the emperor every day.
How could he know that Zhang Juzheng's family seemed to have some unclear grievances with the Liao Palace.
Zhang Juzheng was a prodigy that appeared once in hundreds of years in Jiangling. He participated in the imperial examination at the age of twelve and won consecutive victories and directly entered the provincial examination.
The governor deliberately "took the back door" to make him fail, with the reason that: such a genius was too rare, and in order to hone him, he couldn't let him go too smoothly.
This back door led to Zhang Juzheng becoming a "young juren" at the age of fifteen.
Zhang Juzheng's success in the imperial examination at a young age shocked Huguang, and the Zhang Mansion immediately became brilliant.
As the most distinguished family in Jiangling, the Liao Palace had to express its congratulations. Zhu Xian hosted a banquet to entertain Zhang Juzheng's grandfather Zhang Zhen to celebrate.
Speaking of which, the Zhang Mansion and the Liao Palace have a close relationship. Zhang Juzheng has been accompanying Zhu Xian since he was a child, and Zhang Zhen worked as a guard in the Liao Palace.
Being a distinguished guest in the prince's mansion is an honor that Zhang Zhen has never enjoyed in his life.
So, Zhang Zhen drank a lot of wine that night until he fell drunk and never woke up again.
The grandson passed the exam, and the grandfather drank to death on the same day. It was really a tragedy.
The grievances between Zhang Juzheng and the Liao Palace in later generations focused more on Zhang Zhen's death from drunkenness after attending the Liao Palace banquet. It was believed that it was because of Zhang Zhen's unclear death that Zhang Juzheng had hatred for the Liao Palace, and then personally contributed to the abolition of the Liao King's title.
Because there was a rumor in Jiangling that Zhang Zhen's death was deliberately caused by Zhu Xian to vent his dissatisfaction with Zhang Juzheng.
As for what dissatisfaction was vented, it was naturally that Zhang Juzheng, as a companion, became "someone else's child" in the mouth of Zhu Xian's mother.
From this, we can see that when Zhang Juzheng was studying with the Prince of Liao, he might have had a rift with the Prince of Liao, Zhu Xian.
No matter who caused the conflict in the first place, it is very likely that Zhang Juzheng took the opportunity to retaliate against the Prince of Liao.
Of course, flies do not bite seamless eggs.
If the Prince of Liao had not committed many evil deeds in Jiangling, Zhang Juzheng would not have done anything out of the ordinary.
You know, that was his hometown.
People's words are scary. Although no one dared to say anything in front of the Zhang family, pointing fingers behind their backs was enough to ruin the reputation of his Zhang family.
Chen Yiqin and Li Chunfang did not know that there were rumors that Zhang Juzheng's grandfather died in the Prince of Liao's Mansion. After dealing with it this way, they did not take it seriously anymore, but quietly waited for Hong Chaoxuan's reply.
Wei Guangde had naturally heard about the imperial envoy's investigation of the prince, but he did not know that the so-called Prince of Liao's Mansion was one of Zhang Juzheng's major crimes, so of course he would not do anything.
In fact, even if Wei Guangde knew about the Prince of Liao's Mansion, he would not do anything.
Perhaps, this is the calamity of the Zhang family, and they can only solve it by themselves.
In fact, if you think about it carefully, you can understand that the so-called Zhang Juzheng framed the Liao Wang case. It was just a so-called crime fabricated by the Wanli Emperor at that time to retaliate against his teacher.
The Liao Wang case was handled by the Longqing Emperor's instructions, which was to reduce the vassal and raise the wall. Among them, because the Liao Wang had no offspring, the Longqing Emperor did not allow the side branch to inherit.
The reason is also very subtle, which can only be understood but not explained.
The court continued to operate, and it was a few months in a flash. During this period, many big and small things happened.
The biggest thing was that Emperor Longqing, despite the opposition of Ma Sen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the cabinet, resolutely ordered the Ministry of Revenue to purchase various jewels. At the same time, he did not forget the order at the beginning of the year and ordered a number of selected girls from all over the country to enter the palace.
The initiator of the selection of girls in Jiangnan at the beginning of the year, Zhang Jinchao, the internal envoy of the Nanjing Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, had been executed in Nanjing, and his followers were all sentenced to exile.
Now half a year has passed, Emperor Longqing remembered this problem again, and naturally issued an order to urge it to be done.
As for the trivial matter, of course, Ma Fang, the chief military officer of the Xuanfu who was ordered to do so, was determined to change his past, and once again passed Wei Guangde's secret report, planning to choose an opportunity to go out of the fortress and attack the grassland Anta headquarters.
In the past six months, Ma Fang has also been paying attention to the movements of the Tartars on the grassland.
I had previously known that Ma Fang had been imprisoned for dereliction of duty, so I was careful to prevent the Xuanfu army from retaliating.
Half a year has passed, and the defense has gradually relaxed, and Ma Fang has become itchy.
In addition, two months ago, the rebel chief Feng Jizu of Yunnan was executed, and Chen Qixue, the governor of Shanxi Province, and others petitioned Bai Chun, Wei Liangxiang, Tian Ruguang, Tian Huai, Wang Xian, and others to surrender and negotiate for surrender and rewards.
These people all defected to Mongolia with Qiu Fu, a White Lotus cultist. Five of them, Bai Chun, Wei Liangxiang, Tian Ruguang, Tian Huai, and Wang Xian, established their own tribes on the grassland, producing rich livestock. .
But he still chose to return to the Ming Dynasty, which made Emperor Longqing very happy. He issued an edict to commend him, "If there is a wise and courageous person who understands the love of captives, he will be appointed by all the governors, and he will declare the favor of the imperial court to attract more people."
After the meeting, the Ministry of War issued a reward report. Bai Chun and others were awarded posts to hundreds of households and were rewarded with fifty taels of silver. Others who returned home also received rewards.
At the same time, the imperial court issued an edict to set a reward for the captive chiefs: "Any captive who can behead and present the head of a great chief like An Da, and who can lead five hundred men and three hundred men and women to return will be rewarded according to the rules of the meeting. The fifth Those with one hundred people will still be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver; those with three hundred will still be rewarded with seventy taels of silver; those with more than 200 will be awarded to a thousand households, and those with more than 150 will still be rewarded with fifty taels of silver; those with more than 150 will be awarded Those who serve a thousand households will still be rewarded with 40 taels of silver; those with more than 100 households will still be rewarded with 30 taels of silver; those with more than 50 or 60 households will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver; Those who have more than twenty people will be awarded with crowns, belts and flags, and will still be rewarded with one or two taels of silver; those who have more than ten hereditary members will be rewarded according to the actual number of the border. If they can capture the rebels such as Zhao Quan and Zhou Yuan, the heads of them will come to present. , that is to say, he will be given the command of the capital and will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver, and he may be able to kill anyone who is not as good as beheading himself and surrender in return."
In addition, if those who surrendered could persuade the Han people from outside the border to return, in addition to the above-mentioned rewards for the returnees, they would also be given five coins of silver to each of the people who persuaded them to surrender, etc.
The purpose of this was to divide and dismantle the strength of the rebels outside the Great Wall, especially since a large number of Han people around Bansheng City cultivated land for Ada Khan. These outputs undoubtedly enriched the food sources of the Mongols and were not conducive to maintaining the war against Mongolia.
Finding ways to recall the lost population can effectively combat the Mongols' logistical supplies.
On the grasslands today, Mongols and Han people do not trust each other, so Ma Fang believes that an opportunity for revenge has come.
But on this day, Wei Guangde and Chen Yiqin went to Yin Shizhen's house for a banquet. Chen Yiqin was also telling them an interesting story that he saw in a memorial today.
"Today, Shanxi's imperial censor Song Gao reported that there was a man named Li Liangyu in Jingle County, Taiyuan Prefecture, who for some reason turned into a woman."