Chapter 774 873 Seizing the Position

Gao Gong walked out of the Qianqing Palace. He was not interested in finding out how many Jinyiwei there were. It was enough to know that there were many people.

Passing through the long corridor, Gao Gong suddenly stopped in front of Huiji Gate. Although the cabinet was not far away, he stood under the porch and thought for a moment, and chose to walk out of the imperial city.

Yes, he did not plan to go back to the cabinet at this time.

Because he disagreed with other cabinet ministers about today's matter, he thought that he might not smile when they met.

However, he did have a lot of opinions about Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin, and Zhang Juzheng. They were irresponsible in doing anything and would call people to meetings for discussion at every turn. In fact, many things could be decided by the emperor.

Because of their indecisiveness, things were not handled for a long time, and the efficiency of the court was low. Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin were both responsible.

He was very disgusted with these people who only sought stability and did not make progress.

Wei Guangde has a way, but he is hesitant and only knows how to seek benefits and avoid harm. It is not a blessing for the Ming Dynasty that such a person has seized the center of the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng used to feel that he was a good person, and their thoughts were very compatible, but since he took over Xu Jie's power, he has also habitually considered his own interests when doing things.

The faces of the cabinet ministers passed through his mind, but Gao Gong did not find any one worthy of his winning over and cultivating.

Perhaps, since he has reached this position, he naturally does not need to promote him.

As Gao Gong walked along, the guards and eunuchs he met on the road saw him from a distance and stood by the road decisively, lowered their heads and dared not look at him, even the officials who came to the six departments and the cabinet to do business, turned a blind eye.

After leaving the imperial city and standing still, a sedan chair was soon carried over.

The attendant lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, Gao Gong bent down to enter the sedan chair, and ordered: "Go to the Ministry of Personnel."

His purpose of coming out this time was to implement the matter of dismissing officials as soon as possible and let the Ministry of Personnel report it as soon as possible.

Of course, such a thing cannot be handled by him as the Minister of Personnel. It is best to let one of the assistant ministers of the Ministry of Personnel handle it.

The Ministry of Personnel began to study the abolition of those official positions, and the court and the public were also discussing about Liu Tigan being ordered to retire.

While everyone was still discussing this matter, Chen Yiqin had already completed a memorial in the duty room.

Although the cabinet would not report this matter, Chen Yiqin was still determined to report it and asked Emperor Longqing to keep Liu Tigan, because in his opinion, if the Minister of Revenue was retired for this reason, then no upright minister would be willing to serve as the Minister of Revenue in the future, and only cunning and flattering people would take advantage of it and compete for the position of the Minister of Revenue.

Why no political minister was willing to serve as the Minister of Revenue? It was simple, because officials who were ordered to retire were likely to not enjoy the benefits of official retirement.

Rather than being dismissed by the emperor from the Ministry of Revenue, it is better to wait for retirement in other official positions.

After Chen Yiqin finished writing the memorial, he did not plan to consult Yin Shizhan and Wei Guangde, and sent someone to the palace directly.

Earlier, Chen Yiqin had the idea of ​​retiring due to health reasons, but at that time there was no one in the cabinet, and Yin Shizhan, Wei Guangde and others were still in the six ministries, so he managed to hold on until now.

Since Yin and Wei had already left, he felt that it didn't matter, and it didn't matter whether he stayed or not.

Moreover, he had already felt that if he continued to stay in the court, Gao Gong would probably not tolerate the existence of him as the second assistant.

Yes, Gao Gong might want the position of the first assistant, but Li Chunfang's health now seems to be better than his, and the possibility of giving up the position is very small.

And even if Li Chunfang gave up the position, he, the second assistant, should be the next to take the position, but that was the position Gao Gong was aiming for.

And if he stayed where he was, Gao Gong would pass him and directly sit in the position of the first assistant, and he would have no face to continue staying in the court.

Obviously, now, whether it is Li Chunfang or Chen Yiqin, they are actually enemies of Gao Gong, and they want to overthrow them as soon as possible.

Taking advantage of Liu Tigan's incident, he can also resign and return. As for the vacant cabinet position he left, if His Majesty wants to fill it, he can recommend Zhao Zhenji to take the position.

After all, they are fellow villagers, and staying in the cabinet can still take care of them.

At Wei Guangde's banquet in the evening, after Chen Yiqin said that he had submitted a memorial to retain Liu Tigan, Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhan were both shocked.

"Brother Yifu, you know His Majesty's intentions. I told you last year. Why are you so confused?

If our cabinet jointly submits a memorial, His Majesty will not be able to say anything and can only keep it in the palace. If you submit a memorial alone, I am afraid that His Majesty will summon you to the palace to talk about this matter tomorrow."

Wei Guangde put down the wine glass and complained angrily.

"Shan Dai, I just want to protect myself. You don't need to know the inside story."

Who would have thought that after Wei Guangde finished speaking, Chen Yiqin said this.

Seeing Wei Guangde and Yin Shizeng looking at him in confusion, Chen Yiqin said again: "Regarding Gao Suqing, I just remind you that if you find that he is dissatisfied with you, or even starts to make small moves, it is the right way to resign and return home."

Wei Guangde was shocked to hear Chen Yiqin say this. He knew that there might be many fights between Chen Yiqin and Gao Gong that they didn't know about, and Chen Yiqin had already decided to leave.

Yin Shizeng didn't think so much. He was concerned about the small moves that Chen Yiqin said, and immediately asked: "Yi Fu, did Gao Suqing attack you?"

"No."

Chen Yiqin shook his head and said.

"Then why do you say so, or did he threaten you with something?"

Yin Shizeng was of course dissatisfied with his answer and continued to ask.

Wei Guangde also cast a concerned look at this time, but as if he suddenly woke up, he got up and walked around to disperse the family waiting outside the door. Then he returned to his seat and asked: "Brother Yifu, what's going on here now?" Between the three of us, if you have something to hide, you can tell it if you can, and we can work out a solution together."

"I have nothing to hide, and Gao Suqing has nothing to use to catch me."

Chen Yiqin shook his head and said.

In fact, after working as an official for so many years, it is absolutely impossible to say that there are no problems at all.

However, Chen Yiqin was very principled in his work and did not do anything outrageous or treacherous.

Seeing the looks in the eyes of Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde, he also knew that if he didn't talk about something, these two people might not feel at ease. They might have to go to Gao Gong tonight. After thinking about it, he said: "Some time ago, the official department You must have heard of several memorials on the appointment and dismissal of local officials."

Hearing Chen Yiqin talk about this, both of them nodded.

Although they had not seen the memorial, Wei Guangde knew that after the interregnum, the Ministry of Personnel made some personnel adjustments to the local chief envoys and other yamen.

Wei Guangde didn't pay attention to the specific person who was replaced because it seemed that there was no one on his line.

However, after hearing Chen Yiqin mention it today, Wei Guangde realized later that there was something to do with Chen Yiqin.

Neither of them spoke, but waited quietly for Chen Yiqin to say what he wanted to say next.

"At that time, I reported on the shortcomings of conservatism in current affairs, and proposed that officials should be carefully promoted and reused in the appointment and removal of officials."

When Chen Yiqin said this, Wei Guangde remembered that Chen Yiqin actually submitted such a memorial some time ago, which was praised by Emperor Longqing and handed over to the Ministry of Personnel and other yamen for discussion.

"It's just that the copy of the memorial arrived at the Ministry of Personnel. I heard that what he told the officials below was that I violated his authority. He should be the one to report these things, so he directly asked the Ministry of Personnel to put my memorial aside. I also asked the officials not to worry about my memorials in the future."

"What? How dare the thief do this."

Wei Guangde opened his mouth in surprise, while Yin Shizhen got up in anger and was ready to go to Gao Gong to argue.

Seeing Yin Shizhen about to leave the table, Wei Guangde hugged him.

"Brother Zhengfu, calm down, calm down."

After pushing Yin Shizhen back to his seat, Wei Guangde frowned and said, "I have people in the official department, but they didn't say anything about it."

Wei Guangde's words made Yin Shizhen come back to his senses and said in surprise: "I haven't heard about this either, otherwise I would have known about it a long time ago."

"There are some changes within the Ministry of Personnel, and people outside don't know about it."

There was no anger on Chen Yiqin's face at this time, he just said calmly.

Wei Guangde stopped talking. In the recent period, it seems that he has not received any news from the Ministry of Personnel. It seems that the people he originally accepted have either defected to Gao Gong, or have been marginalized by the adjustment of their positions. Don't know the inside story.

"Have you ever thought that when Gao Gong comes back, he will continue to be a cabinet minister safely?

Are you the same? Are you satisfied with becoming a pavilion elder? "

Chen Yiqin asked at this time.

"Gao Gong wants to replace you as the second assistant. When Li Chunfang retires, he can become the first assistant."

Wei Guangde guessed.

"As long as I am in the court, even if Gao Gong ousts Li's chief assistant, the position of chief assistant will not fall to him. He will make troubles, and the court will have big twists and turns. The court cannot withstand the troubles."

Chen Yiqin said.

"You want to return to your hometown to retire and give up your secondary assistant position, so that he will only see Li Chunfang as your opponent?"

Wei Guangde said tentatively.

Chen Yiqin nodded this time, "You have a lower status in the cabinet than he does. If you are too domineering in the cabinet, even though he will win over some officials, he will get more accusations of jealousy and jealousy, just like before.

Therefore, as long as I give up the second assistant, he will not attack you again, but will shift the target of the fight to the first assistant.

Only by defeating the chief minister can he replace him. "

"I see."

Wei Guangde nodded, already understanding Chen Yiqin's concerns.

He has secured his position as the second assistant, and in order to attack him, Gao Gong will continue to use small tricks against him, Yin Shizhen and himself, because now in the cabinet, the three people have a very close relationship.

Simply attacking Chen Yiqin would inevitably lead to a joint counterattack by Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde.

So now he is just playing tricks. In fact, it is to let Chen Yiqin know how powerful he is and choose to retreat despite the difficulties.

If he continues to persist, Gao Gong will most likely take action against Yin Shizhen and Wei Guangde and cut off Chen Yiqin's arms first for the sake of his future.

As for who to move first, it depends on who gets the handle.

"Brother Yifu, if we join forces to fight back, do we have a chance of winning?"

Wei Guangde was silent for a while and then suddenly asked.

He had already thought about it in his mind. In fact, he had thought about this problem earlier, that is, whether the three of them could arm-wrestle with Gao Gong together.

However, the result of thinking is very pessimistic. Emperor Longqing may still listen to Gao Gong's words in the end, although he will not punish them.

Therefore, in Wei Guangde's heart, the best situation for the three of them is to tie themselves together to protect themselves.

But after listening to Chen Yiqin's analysis today, he understood that Gao Gong couldn't tolerate Chen Yiqin, so it wasn't the three of them joining forces to deal with him, but Gao Gong wanted to take action against them whenever he wanted.

"You want to use what Liu Ti did to offend His Majesty, and then petition for his return?"

Wei Guangde asked again.

Chen Yiqin nodded, "This is the most decent way to leave. It is better to leave by yourself than to be squeezed out by others."

Speaking of this, Chen Yiqin looked at Yin Shizhan, then at Wei Guangde, and then continued: "Zhengfu entered Prince Yu's Mansion a little late, I don't know how much influence he has on Your Majesty.

Although Your Majesty does not listen to him completely, there are many things that cannot be overcome by him, as long as Gao Gong does not get involved in the Beijing camp."

The three of them fell silent. Before Gao Gong returned, they had planned to divert Gao Gong's attention to revenge Xu Jie. Who would have thought that he did not intend to fight Xu Jie at all? The removal of Hai Rui was clear evidence.

They knew that this move was made by Gao Gong to ease the relationship with Zhang Juzheng, because at this time Gao Gong's target of attack had shifted to Chen Yiqin, and he had to consolidate his position in the cabinet first.

As for Xu Jie, as long as Gao Gong was still in the cabinet, he would have time to take revenge whenever he wanted. As long as he took action before Xu Jie died, he could get rid of his anger.

The essence of political struggle is actually the influence on imperial power, just like the high-end combat power in fantasy novels.

"Be prudent and protect yourself."

Wei Guangde couldn't help but repeat what Chen Yiqin said before. If he was really attacked by Gao Gong, he would have to choose to retreat.

Now, the three-person group including Chen Yiqin felt that they couldn't beat Gao Gong. After Chen Yiqin left, could the remaining two people beat him?

Originally, they wanted to discuss the three people to jointly submit a memorial to protect Liu Tigan, but they didn't expect it to be a basin of cold water poured on their heads.

Wei Guangde certainly wouldn't fight Gao Gong regardless of everything. It was completely meaningless. Being an official is for power and enjoyment, not to make enemies and make oneself sleepless.

The next day, Emperor Longqing approved the memorial of Liu Tigan, the Minister of Revenue, to retire and deprive him of his position.

He clearly expressed his attitude to all officials in the court and what means he would use to punish his ministers who disobeyed him.

Liu Tigan was not retired, but dismissed. He could not enjoy the post road, nor could he enjoy the benefits of official retirement. He was just an official who was dismissed for his mistakes.

At the same time, the Qianqing Palace sent eunuchs to the cabinet, returned Chen Yiqin's memorial yesterday, and made an application for imperial edict.

Emperor Longqing did not ask Chen Yiqin to go to the Qianqing Palace, but sent people to the cabinet to deal with it.

There is no doubt that this was a big blow to Chen Yiqin, and there was no mercy at all. This made Wei Guangde have to suspect that Emperor Longqing seemed to want Gao Gong to sit in the position of second assistant.

In fact, even if Gao Gong did not have the position of second assistant, he was a cabinet minister and was actually granted the title of Minister of Personnel, and his influence in the court was greater than that of the first assistant Li Chunfang.

As for the memorials submitted by Guangmao, the Imperial Censor, Ling Guan, etc., requesting the emperor to withdraw the order, they were also applied for imperial eunuchs in person by the Qianqing Palace eunuchs.

Wei Guangde knew that this was actually Emperor Longqing's subtle hint that Chen Yiqin should retire.