Chapter 705 804 Shao Daxia

From the outside world’s perspective, Zhang Juzheng actually gained something from the four vacant positions, at least he had already taken the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Although Emperor Longqing had not issued an edict yet, people in the know had received news from the palace that the emperor preferred Liu Tiegan to take over Ma Sen’s position.

But only Zhang Juzheng knew that he was the one who was nominated by the four of them when there was no suitable candidate, and Liu Tiegan actually looked more at Xu Jie’s face. The only relationship Xu Jie had in the capital was with Zhang Juzheng’s family.

Originally, in his opinion, if one of these three positions was given to one family, everyone could just laugh it off, but in the end he got nothing.

What Wei Guangde and others didn’t know was that because of today’s incident, Zhang Juzheng, who was still wavering, finally made an important decision.

What Zhang Juzheng wanted to do was naturally to recruit helpers.

Now there are several people in the cabinet, Chen, Yin, and Wei, who are closely united. It is not easy to destroy their relationship. Moreover, if it continues like this, the cabinet will only be the world of the three of them in the future, and he will have to stand aside even more.

He tried to win over Li Chunfang and formed an alliance, but soon found that Li Chunfang had no such intention.

Therefore, Zhang Juzheng had to turn his attention to outside the cabinet.

Among the six ministries, the one who interacted with him the most was Yang Bo, the Minister of Personnel. Although he lacked qualifications, Yang Bo also wanted to join the cabinet.

Although there was an unspoken rule that "Fei Hanlin would not enter the cabinet", it was an unspoken rule after all and could not be put on the table.

As long as the driving force was strong enough, Yang Bo still had a chance to enter the cabinet.

However, given the current situation, it was difficult.

He only had the support of the Ministry of Households, while the other yamen, Gao Yi of the Ministry of Rites and Mao Kai of the Ministry of Justice, were both noble people, and it was difficult to get their support. If Yang Bo wanted to enter the cabinet, the Ministry of Personnel would be useless, leaving only the support of the Ministry of War.

Therefore, the only power he could get was the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households, and what about Chen Yiqin and Wei Guangde?

They had the support of the Ministry of Works and the Censorate, and the key was that they had the righteousness, and Li Chunfang might not be willing to let Yang Bo enter the cabinet.

In terms of qualifications, Yang Bo is much better than Li Chunfang. Li Chunfang should not be stupid enough to let a wolf into the house, so he will definitely try to stop it.

Yang Bo is not suitable, and Zhang Juzheng thought about the others, and it seems that there is no suitable candidate.

Of course, there is not one, but this person has too much influence, and it seems that the relationship with him may not be the same as before.

This person is naturally Gao Gong, who was calculated by his teacher.

Zhang Juzheng is also a man of Yu Ju, and he is of course very clear about the relationship between Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others.

Appearance is close, but the heart is not.

If Gao Gong is brought back to the court, the impact on Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others will undoubtedly be the greatest. Emperor Longqing will no longer support them as before. Maybe the trust is still there, but which side will he take when Gao Gong and the three of them conflict?

However, if Gao Gong is brought back to the court, if he settles the old accounts, Xu Jie has retired and returned home, and this account seems to be settled on him.

Zhang Juzheng was originally very hesitant, but after what happened today, he found that he needed a way to break the strong Yu Ju faction in the cabinet, and he had to introduce Gao Gong.

He made up his mind to pull Gao Gong back to the court, and then Zhang Juzheng began to plan this matter.

It was obviously not appropriate to report directly. He needed to find an opportunity to be alone with Emperor Longqing. He only needed to mention this name and see the emperor's reaction before taking the next step.

At this moment, in a mansion in Danyang City, guests sat high, drinking and talking happily, and it seemed very lively.

The owner of this place, Shao Fang, was called "Shao Daxia" by the people of Jianghu. It is said that he likes to do chivalrous things, so his reputation spread far and wide.

The word "daxia" refers to people who contribute to society and others by helping others with their own strength, and have abilities, courage, morality and righteousness beyond ordinary people, and have great achievements.

Influenced by Confucianism, the idea of ​​loyalty and righteousness is its spiritual driving force, that is, the so-called "the greatest heroes serve the country and the people."

In the minds of later generations, heroes are martial arts masters with unique skills, courage, strategy, and selflessness.

They often wander in the rivers and lakes, doing chivalrous deeds, punishing evil and eliminating evil, and doing some righteous deeds that the people praise and admire, but ordinary people dare not do or cannot do.

But in the real ancient times, the government had very strict management of the flow of people. You need to rely on a pass to go out, otherwise you are a refugee and the government can detain you.

Whether it is ancient society or modern society, if a country wants to operate normally, it needs order, and the heroes in the rivers and lakes are the ones who break the order.

For example, you can see that the heroes in the novel can rely on their superb martial arts to compete everywhere and even kill people. Not to mention whether they kill evil people, even if they kill evil people, it is an act that violates the law and social order.

If everyone follows suit, the world will be in chaos.

Therefore, the feudal rulers would not allow the existence of knights, because they would not allow people who ignore the law and order to disrupt the stability of society.

Therefore, if there are really knights who wander around and fight for justice, they are actually against the government, often violate the government's laws, and are wanted criminals.

However, this Shao hero is different. He should actually be called a local tyrant. He only protects the neighbors in the local area, so everyone gives him the title of "knight", which actually means the same as a hero.

With the name of a knight, he naturally has connections with the local government and the surrounding official families. Who doesn't want to be protected by a local tyrant?

Today, Mafang's family invited many politicians who had lost power to gather together, and everyone drank together to discuss their comeback.

The attraction of power is too great. Even if these people are dismissed from office, who doesn't want to be revived one day?

As for why Shao Daxia is so keen on this, it is naturally because he must have someone to rely on when doing justice.

To act chivalrously and to punish evil and eliminate evil, to put it bluntly, one has to be strong in force. However, chivalry can use force to violate the prohibition and is also the target of government suppression.

Therefore, Xianfang not only made friends with the local religious circles, but also tried his best to establish relationships with the government and people who came out of the government.

For officials who have lost power, most people may think that there is little value in using them, but Nakata does not see it that way. He already knows that officials can still recover. As long as people do not die, anything is possible.

Speaking of the reinstatement of officials, it was also very accidental. I heard that there was an official in the next door government who was dismissed. For some unknown reason, he became an official again. Not only was he reinstated, but his official position was also promoted. The scene was so grand that not only the local magistrate, but also the county magistrate congratulated him. , and even the chief envoy of the provincial capital came.

It is for this reason that he specially invited the fallen officials from Danyang and surrounding areas to his home for a banquet today to discuss how to help them restore their official positions.

These Danyang abandoned princes discussed for a long time but there was no good solution. After all, when they were in power, they were busy making money, and the officialdom was not enough, so there were not many ways to go.

Regardless of the need for someone from above to take care of it, there is indeed a consensus left after everyone discussed it.

As for the people at the top, of course the first choice is Beijing officials, especially the cabinet and staff of the Ming Dynasty, which are the key to their restoration of official positions.

As long as there are people in these two places to help talk, it will be easy for them to be reinstated.

It's a pity that they know the names of the big bosses in the cabinet and the civil service, but none of them have connections. Otherwise, they wouldn't go back to their hometown to sit here and discuss it, and they still don't know where they can be officials.

Secondly, it is the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Nanjing, which also has the right to appoint officials. The local officials are less important, and they are all officials from the south. However, after all, they are still subject to the control of the north, and most good officials are appointed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Beijing.

Hearing what everyone said, Nakata became interested and asked, "If I bring a lot of money to Beijing, can I get to know these people? Do you want a chance to get back together?"

Hearing what Nafang said, everyone at the banquet shook their heads. When Guan'er reaches that position, he doesn't want gifts from anyone. He will never accept gifts from those he is not familiar with, unless he is guided by an acquaintance.

Seeing that this move didn't work, there was nothing he could do.

The best way to get acquainted with officials is to give gifts and build a relationship with them every time they go back and forth. It really works when something happens.

Shao Fang was born into an official's family, and his family was wealthy. However, he did not like fame by nature. Although he had read a few books and had some literary skills, he did not focus on studying for the imperial examination. He only loved to dance with guns and sticks and travel around the world. Good at martial arts.

He is also upright and forthright, and he always helps those in need and helps those in distress. He has a chivalrous demeanor.

Although the large amount of money he said went to Beijing to pay bribes was not successful, it also made everyone have other ideas.

They are not short of gold and silver, but if they want to have a chance to recover, they must find someone to run around. It seems that the hero Shao in front of them is a good candidate. They trust Xing Fang's character, and he also has martial arts skills and can travel everywhere. convenient.

"We need someone to show us the way to the capital. Although we don't have a way, we might as well find a senior official who is unemployed at home to help with the reinstatement and persuade him to show us the way.

By helping him reinstate himself, we have the support of the DPRK and China. It only costs a few yellow and white things, but it gives us a chance to revive. Isn't it wonderful that there are nobles in the DPRK and China to help us? "

Someone suddenly mentioned this method, that is to say, they just blindly stuff money into the mansions of various adults in the capital to try their luck. It is better to find a high-ranking official who is in a similar situation to them and use it as a bait to help reinstate him and let him point out the money. connections.

Moreover, once this plan succeeds, they will have support in the court, which seems to be a good thing.

"It seems that we are paying to help people reinstate themselves, but his reinstatement also means that we have an opportunity and have a backer in the capital. It is not a loss."

"Great kindness."

"Wonderful, otherwise it would be difficult to gain access to those adults."

Everyone was talking about it because this plan was so clever.

"Then who should I look for? Is there anyone who has connections in the court and will serve as a high official if he can be reinstated?"

After weighing it in his mind, he felt that this method was good, but he was still a little confused about who to contact.

Although the direction was there, the specific implementation was another matter. After Nafang finished speaking, everyone fell silent and started thinking.

Ning Fang was also thinking about it, which was the highest authority in the Ming Dynasty?

Of course, it is the cabinet. It seems to have no power, but it is actually the prime minister and can influence the six departments of the court.

Who has resigned from the cabinet over the years?

Soon, several names came to his mind.

Yan Na, Guo Pu, Gao Gong and Xu Jie.

After he asked about these names, everyone quickly helped to identify the best targets.

The first choice was naturally Xu Jie. He had been in power for many years. Even when he was as powerful as Yan Song, Xu Jie could serve as the second minister of the cabinet for a long time, and later replaced him as the chief minister.

As long as Xu Jie can return to the court, he will definitely become a cabinet minister directly, which will not be low. Even if he cannot replace Li Chunfang, at least Chen Yiqin will step aside.

Gao Gong is the emperor's teacher, and the current emperor's teacher must have great trust. If there is a chance to contact Gao Gong, even if Gao Gong cannot return to the court, at least Yu Zhuan's acquaintances can take care of him.

Among the five people in the current cabinet, four of them worked with Gao Gong in Yu Ji.

As for Guo Pu and Yan Ne, Guo Pu was purely an official who depended on Gao Gong. Although he was also a cabinet minister, it was better to find Gao Gong than Guo Pu.

They had heard that Yan Ne was impeached and dismissed for corruption, but this person did not have good connections in the court, and it seemed that it would be difficult for him to achieve anything if he was copied.

The people in Danyang could only say that they had heard a lot about the situation in the capital from hearsay, and they did not grasp the essence at all. They thought that Yu Ji and his old people were a solid block.

However, after hearing this, Shao Fang had his own calculations.

Xu Jie, the former prime minister, had many students and old friends in the capital. If he was reinstated, he would definitely be able to control the government quickly, so he was naturally put in the first place.

It seemed that Gao Gong was defeated because he offended Xu Jie, but Xu Jie had already resigned, so there was no resistance for Gao Gong to return to the court, so Shao Fang put him in the second place.

The next topic was how much money should be prepared to help with relationships.

"You mean, let me help you make connections?"

At this time, Shao Fang realized that these people wanted him to make connections.

"Shao Xia, you are not in the officialdom, so it is much more convenient for us to do things."

"Yes, Shao Xia, you are a martial arts expert. You really can't do without a master like you when you go south and north. Besides, I personally believe in Shao Xia's character. I am 100% assured to give you the money."

Everyone began to compliment Shao Fang, saying that he was the best choice for this trip.

Shao Fang's original intention was to get to know the powerful, otherwise he would not have done so much.

At this time, after silently calculating in his heart, he also made up his mind to take this opportunity to go out.

Although he had no interest in the imperial examination, that was his idea when he was young after all.

After so many years, he actually had some regrets.

He didn't expect that the officials were so majestic when they appeared, and he was full of envy and yearning.

Unfortunately, he did not participate in the imperial examination. It was too late for him to do it when he was middle-aged.

Moreover, he had no interest in studying when he was young, so at this time he just thought about it.

However, he was still very confident in his talent and thought he was outstanding, otherwise he would not have created the reputation of "Shao Daxia" in Danyang.

Although he could not be an official without an official body, it seemed to be a good choice to manipulate officials to gain power and hide behind the scenes.

Shao Fang agreed immediately, and then everyone gave advice and told him some rules of the officialdom. Other things were not done, but because of unfamiliarity with the rules of the officialdom, he committed taboos and brought trouble to himself.

In the following days, Shao Fang familiarized himself with these official rules while waiting for everyone to raise funds.

A few days later, after raising tens of thousands of taels of silver, Shao Fang packed his luggage and went to Songjiang Prefecture.