Chapter 775 874 Defeat Outside Hubao

Liu Tigan was stripped of his post. Although the court and the public were discussing it, there was no follow-up after Chen Yiqin, Guangmao, Ling Guan and others were reprimanded.

Didn't you see that the emperor didn't even give Chen Yiqin a favor? Continuing to report this matter would only make the emperor unhappy.

So-called career promotion requires you to satisfy your leader first. If the leader has a bad impression of you, it's useless even if you have outstanding abilities.

The jokes of later generations, "If you are said to be able to do it, you are able to do it, and if you are not able to do it, it is also okay", "If you are said to be unable to do it, you are unable to do it, and if you are able to do it, it is also okay", and the horizontal banner "If you don't accept it, you can't do it" actually describe the promotion and demotion of officials in the officialdom in a very vivid way.

Who doesn't want to make progress as an official in the court?

Those who just eat and wait for death have long sought to be transferred to Nanjing in the south, exchanging their official positions in the capital for promotion in Nanjing.

The power is smaller, but the rank is higher, the external water is less, and the benefits after retirement are also more.

The competition for the position of Minister of Revenue was different from what Wei Guangde expected. Neither he nor Yin Shizhan nor Zhang Juzheng wanted to recommend anyone.

Because the news of the previous dispute in the cabinet had spread to the outer court, Gao Gong did not intend to recommend anyone this time in order to avoid suspicion.

After all, with the current financial situation, it is not easy to be the Minister of Revenue.

There is a shortage of money everywhere. Sitting in this position means that all conflicts will converge on this point and there is no way to get rid of it.

And Li Chunfang is still the same, with a posture of not fighting with the world.

Li Chunfang has not participated in the division of court positions for a long time, and this time is no exception.

The emperor is still waiting for the cabinet to recommend someone, but the cabinet members do not want to recommend someone, and the result is that it is wasted.

However, it is impossible for the Ministry of Revenue to have no minister all the time. Next, Zhang Shouzhi, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, will temporarily serve as the official of the Ministry of Revenue and temporarily take over the seal of the Ministry of Revenue.

After all, the Ministry of Revenue controls the money and grain of the world, and there are many documents to be processed every day. It is impossible to do nothing.

If the Ministry of Revenue stops functioning because there is no candidate for the position of Shangshu, the entire court will probably be paralyzed.

What can you do without money?

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

"The position of the Minister of Revenue has been vacant. Your cabinet has been discussing for so long, but hasn't a list been reported yet?"

Emperor Longqing sat on the throne, looking at the cabinet ministers below, and said in a bad tone.

In fact, he also heard some of the results of the cabinet's several discussions through the eunuchs, but this was something he didn't expect. Unexpectedly, no one in the court was eager to try for the high position of the second-rank Shangshu, but chose to retreat.

Especially the cabinet ministers, who didn't even have a minimum recommendation.

Originally, he wanted to balance the position of the Minister of Revenue, but he was also a bit frustrated and didn't know what to do.

The Prime Minister Li Chunfang glanced at the people behind him. It seemed that no one was willing to speak out. He couldn't keep silent all the time, so he had to stand up and say, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the money and grain of the world. What is needed is someone who is good at managing money.

There are few people with this ability in the court and the public at present. We have been working hard for this these days, but we have not found the right person.

It is our fault that we have failed your Majesty's trust."

In the past, Yan Song came out to ease the situation, and then Xu Jie. Now it is Li Chunfang's turn. He can only learn to use the methods of his predecessors, first admitting his dereliction of duty and retreating to advance.

Wei Guangde heard Li Chunfang say this from behind, but he just lowered his head and rolled his eyes. After a set of Tai Chi, nothing happened. It was as good as saying nothing.

In fact, it was not that no one discussed the cabinet, but it was raised and everyone opposed it.

The one who proposed the candidate was Gao Gong. He recommended Ge Shouli, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate who had just returned to the court, because he had briefly served as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the first year of Longqing.

Well, according to Gao Gong, Ge Shouli had experience as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Such a person could quickly get started if he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue.

But such an explanation certainly could not be recognized by Wei Guangde.

It should be noted that Ge Shouli was pushed down because he did not handle the relationship with his subordinates well.

Let alone whether he had the ability to manage finances, he also strongly pushed for the suspension of the single whip law before his retirement. This alone could not make Wei Guangde support it.

Zhang Juzheng also held the same view as him. Because of Wei Guangde's statement, Yin Shizhen and Chen Yiqin naturally chose to support them.

All of a sudden, except for the chief minister Li Chunfang who always made the final statement, everyone else in the cabinet, except Gao Gong, opposed it, so naturally there was no way to continue the discussion.

Another reason that forced Wei Guangde to speak was that the position of the Censorate in his heart far exceeded that of the Ministry of Revenue.

The Ministry of Revenue was important to the court, but the Censorate was more important to him, Wei Guangde.

Without Ge Shouli, Gao Gong would definitely reach out there again, but he could not think of a suitable successor.

The person who could be the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate must be someone who could be accepted by all parties in the cabinet, and there were too few such people and it was not easy to find them.

If Gao Gong really took down the Censorate, Wei Guangde would really have to think carefully about whether to listen to Chen Yiqin and find a reason to retire and return home.

Anyway, he was still young, so he avoided Gao Gong for a while. He was too popular, and he would find a chance to come back later.

Emperor Longqing heard that Li Chunfang had no choice, so he had to look at Chen Yiqin, after all, he was the second assistant of the cabinet.

In fact, he had very conflicting feelings towards Chen Yiqin. He wanted to push Gao Gong up, but Chen Yiqin blocked Master Gao's way.

Even if he took down Li Chunfang, Gao Gong would not be able to directly bypass Chen Yiqin and become the prime minister.

Therefore, he had to make a choice between the two, and the victim was Chen Yiqin.

"Yifu, do you have any recommendations for a candidate? You are also an old man among the cabinet ministers. You should know that there are many officials. Can't you find a suitable candidate?

No matter whether it is appropriate or not, just say it and let me use it at my discretion. "

Emperor Longqing's tone of voice became much gentler now, perhaps because he wanted to give Chen Yiqin some compensation and let him put someone in charge of the household department.

When such a person comes to power, and soon after Chen Yiqin becomes an official, he leaves without a backstage, then he has to obey the emperor's words obediently.

“Your Majesty, among the ministers I am familiar with, there is no one who is good at financial management, which disappoints Your Majesty.

It is your fault for not being able to share your Majesty's worries. "

Chen Yiqin was still the same as in the cabinet. Even in front of the emperor, he still did not recommend anyone to be elected as the Minister of Household Affairs.

Chen Yiqin came out to report to the class, and then fell silent.

Emperor Longqing was a little disappointed, but there was still a smile on his face and said: "Nothing, the Minister of Household Affairs is very important, and it is really difficult to find a suitable candidate." ’

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty."

Chen Yiqin bowed and then returned to the train.

"Master Gao, what about you?"

This time it was Gao Gong's turn, and Emperor Longqing had expectations again.

You know, he heard that Gao Gong had mentioned Ge Shouli's name, but Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng and others jointly opposed it.

Emperor Longqing didn't know the twists and turns, but when he succeeded, he had served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, which showed that Ge Shouli was qualified for this position, and now the Ministry of Household Affairs was in urgent need of someone to take up the position.

"Reporting to your Majesty, I don't have a suitable candidate."

Unexpectedly, Gao Gong did not announce Ge Shouli's name at this time.

In fact, Gao Gong is not a fool. If he pushes Ge Shouli out at this time, and if the emperor agrees, he will be the person recommended by Gao Gong.

He was not worried that Ge Shouli would commit a crime that would affect him, but he was worried that after he recommended it, the emperor would let someone else recommend the vacant candidate for Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate because he recommended it.

He wanted one of his own to sit in the official position of Zuo Du Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and he must not make a mistake on this point.

Without absolute certainty, he would rather continue to let Ge Shouli sit in this position than give it to someone else.

But in such a large court, you cannot take advantage of it all by yourself. Even if the emperor agrees now, what about the future?

Did he really turn the Ming Dynasty into his arrogant one-note hall?

He Gao Gong thought that he didn't have the ability yet, it was too hateful, and the emperor was also changing.

He had already learned his lesson once, and he would not repeat it again this time.

After thinking about it like this, he simply stopped talking.

Although Emperor Longqing was disappointed, he didn't say anything. He couldn't be allowed to force Gao Gong to name a person with a whip.

Next, he asked Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen for their opinions, but the results were the same. He didn't hear a single name.

"Will the position of Minister of the Ministry of Hubu always remain vacant? If something happens to the Ministry of Hubu, who will bear the responsibility?"

Emperor Longqing's last patience was finally worn away at this time, and he reprimanded loudly.

Everyone in the cabinet headed by Li Chunfang buried their heads and remained silent, allowing Emperor Longqing to vent his dissatisfaction with words.

Everyone actually has people in their pockets, but they really don’t want to get involved in the quagmire of the household department.

The imperial court's deficit was too great, and controlling the household department was simply causing trouble for itself.

"I don't care. The cabinet is limited to recommending a candidate for the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue within three days, whether it is your recommendation or the ministry's decision. Otherwise, if there is any problem with the Ministry of Revenue, I will ask you."

Emperor Longqing finally calmed down after venting his anger, but the matter still needed to be settled, so he asked again: "Who is in charge of the Nanjing Household Department now?"

Emperor Longqing still doesn't know about Nanjing's Liubu Tang officials, and he still wants to ask his cabinet ministers when he thinks about it. This shows that the Ming emperor really didn't care about Nanjing at all.

Emperor Longqing's words stunned all the cabinet ministers. Nanjing is a place where losers go to retire. Even if they sign documents, most of the time they don't care who is in charge there.

So after Emperor Longqing asked the question, no one could answer it for a while.

It's not okay for the scene to be quiet, because there is no chance that the emperor's anger that has just calmed down will be ignited again.

Wei Guangde thought for a while and said: "The current Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing should be Guo Qian."

Wei Guangde knows what Emperor Longqing has in mind. If you don't intend to recommend the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, then let him nominate one.

However, although it was a casual appointment, of course he could not appoint him randomly, so the first thing he thought of was the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing.

Nanjing has always had a backup team, wouldn't this be useful?

If you can’t find a suitable one in Beijing, then use someone in Nanjing’s position.

However, since Wei Guangde knew about it, he had to make it clear to the emperor in advance, so as not to embarrass the emperor in the end. After all, he was still a cabinet minister and consulted with the emperor, so he had to do his job well.

So he continued, in fact, it was to introduce Guo Qian to the emperor, and at the same time, he quickly sorted out the memories about this person in his mind.

"Your Majesty, Guo Qian's courtesy name is Mengyang and his nickname is Yiquan. He is from Renqiu County, North Zhili.

In the 17th year of Jiajing's reign, he became a Jinshi and was awarded the title of Chief of the Ministry of War. He served successively as a member of the Ministry of War and as a lieutenant in the Ministry of War. He later served as the prefect of Weihui in Henan, deputy envoy of military preparations in Lu'an, envoy to Shanxi Province, envoy to Zhejiang, minister to the right of Jiangxi, and Zuobu of Shaanxi. Political envoy.

In the 38th year of Jiajing, he was promoted to Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Shaanxi, and then to Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief and Governor of Shaanxi's three borders. Later, he was transferred to the Left Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, and then to the Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. "

Hearing Wei Guangde's introduction, Emperor Longqing was a little dumbfounded. Obviously, although Guo Gan was the Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, his resume was purely a military civil servant. He knew how to lead troops to fight, not the economy.

Thinking of this, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but look at Gao Gong.

"Then how did he become the Minister of Revenue?"

Emperor Longqing asked curiously. Obviously, Guo Gan's promotion was a matter of the previous dynasty. At that time, he avoided suspicion and naturally didn't pay much attention to the changes in court officials. Especially in the last two years, after his position was consolidated, he couldn't tolerate him making mistakes.

"There were several disturbances in the Nanjing barracks, and Guo Gan, then the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, handled them properly, so he was promoted to the Minister. "

Wei Guangde knew that because Guo Gan was responsible for the two military disturbances in Nanjing at the end of the Jiajing period, his father-in-law was disgraced and basically lost the emperor's favor.

If it were not for this, he would not care about the changes in officials in Nanjing.

Among the people in the palace, he was the only one who cared about the personnel changes in Nanjing, after all, it was related to his own interests.

"Is there anyone in Nanjing who is good at managing finances?"

Emperor Longqing continued to ask.

"Your Majesty, I don't know whether there is anyone in Nanjing who is good at managing finances, but now Zhang Shouzhi, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is temporarily holding the seal, but he seems to be handling the affairs of the ministry well recently. Why bother to pay attention to Nanjing? "

Wei Guangde thought about it and said.

Wei Guangde didn't pay much attention to who else was in the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, because he never sent people to the Ministry of Revenue when he was placing people there.

Everyone knew that Gao Gong was rectifying the administration of officials, and the Ministry of Revenue had the most money, but it was also the easiest to be noticed by Gao Gong.

He would definitely not recommend people back from Nanjing, and he would not easily recommend people now.

Recommending at this time would not be a list for Gao Gong, who could slowly check the people recommended by Wei Guangde, and sooner or later he would find him.

"Zhang Shouzhi?"

Emperor Longqing muttered, "Is the Ministry of Revenue well managed? ”

The Nine Frontiers are nine important military towns established along the Great Wall defense line in the north during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty.

The nine important border towns of Liaodong Town, Jizhou Town, Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Shanxi Town, Yansui Town (also known as Yulin Town), Ningxia Town, Guyuan Town (also known as Shaanxi Town), and Gansu Town were established along the long northern border line, which stretches from the Yalu River in the east to Jiayuguan in the west.

Facing the rise of the Mongolian tribes, the Shanxi region was the first to bear the brunt. Datong Town and Shanxi Town in its territory The town became a strategic location.

According to the "History of Ming Dynasty", there were wars almost every year, so Datong had the saying "no peaceful year".

However, today, the Ming soldiers on duty at Baihu Fort were horrified to find a black spot in the distant sky.

As time went by, the black spot continued to grow larger and split into more.

"Dangdangdang"

The warning gong was violently struck, and the chaotic sound reflected the panic of the gong striker at this time. (End of this chapter)