Chapter 829 918 How Can a Ten-Year-Old Child Rule the World

"Brother Shi Ju, don't you want to be the second Ma Sen and win the applause of those Qing sects?"

Gao Gong's words struck a chord in Zhang Shouzhi's heart, and he stood there stunned for a moment, blushing.

After a long while, Zhang Shouzhi said: "Yuan Fu, I, Zhang Shouzhi, am not a person who is greedy for fame. Don't misunderstand me.

If there is no legitimate reason for transferring money into the palace, how will the scholars in the world view this matter? "

Seeing that Zhang Shouzhi's attitude softened, Gao Gong was satisfied and replied: "When a new emperor ascends the throne, the court always allocates money to make new head and face jewelry for the palace. What's so difficult about this?"

"That's why I can't agree to this. How old is Your Majesty now? Where did the harem concubines come from, and under what name do they make head and face jewelry?"

Zhang Shouzhi had recovered and argued with reason.

"this"

At this time, Gao Gong suddenly realized that there seemed to be something wrong with this matter. He ignored Zhu Yijun's age. He was only a ten-year-old child, where did he come from the harem.

Gao Gong lowered his head and thought, recalling the records of previous emperors after they ascended the throne. It seems that Emperor Yingzong and Emperor Wuzong did not have a harem because they were both underage when they ascended the throne, so they did not seem to have spent this money.

Thinking of this, Gao Gong knew that if he didn't find a suitable reason, this matter would definitely leave people talking about it.

He raised his right hand and slowly rubbed his forehead, lost in thought.

The new emperor has no harem, and the head and face jewelry made were actually used by the former emperor’s concubines. The prince is purely filial.

After all, Gao Gong had rich experience, but he came up with a reason in a short period of time. It was just a slight change in the procedure, and the new emperor Zhu Yijun had to express his stance.

With this idea, Gao Gong was determined and said: "It is a fact that the new emperor is underage and has no harem.

But the new emperor was pure filial piety. Although he did not have a harem, the former emperor's concubines were all there. It was reasonable for him to customize head and face jewelry for the late emperor's concubines to satisfy the late emperor's unfulfilled wish. "

They are both figures in the court, but they actually understand each other tacitly about many things.

Gao Gong took the initiative to arrange for the Ministry of Revenue to allocate money to the inner court. Zhang Shouzhi knew exactly what he had in mind.

But after seeing Gao Gong, he didn't say a word.

Zhang Shouzhi did not expect that Gao Gong would think of such a reason. After thinking for a long time, he nodded and said: "If it is His Majesty's will, this money should naturally be allocated."

If Emperor Longqing was still there and he ordered silver to be used to make head and face jewelry, Zhang Shouzhi would have to emulate his predecessor and generously refuse the emperor's unreasonable request, even if he didn't have to wear a black hair.

Two hundred thousand taels of silver is not a small amount of money.

When Emperor Longqing asked Ma Sen to allocate 500,000 taels of silver for palace expenses, Ma Sen did not agree even though he took off his black gauze.

In the end, after repeated discussions among the ministers, Emperor Longqing could only reduce the number to one hundred thousand taels.

However, if this request was made by the new emperor Zhu Yijun, the Ministry of Revenue really could not refuse.

Customized head and face jewelry were given to the harem out of filial piety, and since the emperor was newly enthroned, this makes sense.

In any case, Emperor Hongwu founded the Ming Dynasty and focused on governing the world with filial piety.

The new emperor Zhu Yijun was extremely filial. If he refused, it would be Zhang Shouzhi who would be cast aside by the scholars.

"I understand what Yuan Fu means, but..."

Zhang Shouzhi hesitated, but he didn't know how to continue.

"No matter what the difficulty is, it doesn't matter."

Gao Gong was impatient and couldn't see anyone hesitating, so he immediately pressed him.

"The Ministry of Finance has no money to allocate."

Zhang Shouzhi had no choice but to say, "There are 1.8 million taels of silver in Taicang now, but there are 900,000 taels of military pay that will be escorted soon, and there are also 200,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Industry, and other bits and pieces. Quite a few, probably 200,000 taels. The remaining 600,000 taels are not enough to pay for the funeral of the late emperor. Where can I find the money to make headgear for the palace? "

"The Ministry of Industry must pay the full amount. When it comes to the late emperor's mausoleum, there is no room for sloppiness."

Gao Gong knew about the financial difficulties of the imperial court, so he knew that there was no money to make trouble, so he naturally had to find a way to cope with the situation.

Without new sources of money, other expenses can only be postponed for a while.

"Look at other miscellaneous expenses. If they are not necessary, they will be deducted for three months first."

Gao Gong continued, but he hesitated about the remaining bulk, which was the military salary of nine hundred thousand taels.

Ordinarily, this money should not be withheld, as it involves military and state affairs, and Gao Gong knows how powerful it is.

If it is handled carelessly, it may cause an accident.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been many precedents for soldiers to commit mutinies and other incidents just for pay.

"Brother Shi Ju, I understand the difficulties of the Ministry of Revenue, but now is the time for everyone to work together to tide over the difficulties. The financial situation of the imperial court is getting worse year by year. This is a fact that is obvious to all. But the current political situation, compared with the financial situation, It’s even more of a mess.”

Gao Gong nodded to Zhang Shouzhi, he thought this was enough.

After all, dealing with Feng Bao is not his business alone, but the common interest of the civil service group.

"You'd better collect the surrounding money as soon as possible and urge them to have these gold and silver escorted to Beijing as soon as possible.

As for expenditures, if you can deduct it for a period of time, deduct it as much as possible, and if you can't, let it go. This is a matter of course. You must not let anything happen at this time. "

Gao Gong continued to speak to Zhang Shouzhi.

"Okay, I'll go to the Ministry of Works tomorrow to see if they can advance some of the money. If they weren't eager to complete the late emperor's mausoleum, the money from the Ministry of Works should have come from themselves."

Zhang Shouzhi sighed, but then he said seriously to Gao Gong: "Master Yuanfu, I have one more thing to say. If the finances are really in the most critical moment, the Ministry of Revenue can only borrow money from the Changying Treasury of Taipu Temple. , the Ministry of Industry and Taipu Temple may also need a note from the cabinet.

After all, it takes time for money to arrive in Beijing. If there is any inconvenience in the process, I can't think of any other way to do it except Chang Yingku. "

"Okay, if the Ministry of Finance is really unable to make money, let me know and I'll go talk to the Ministry of War."

Gao Gong replied immediately.

The current situation is special, so we can only take it one step at a time, there is no other way.

The next day, the ministers went to the palace again to persuade the prince Zhu Yijun to ascend the throne and inherit the great treasure.

This was already the third time in the past few days. The persuasion ceremony was completed, and the prince agreed through sobs as per the procedure.

The next step is for the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the enthronement ceremony. In fact, planning has already begun, and the enthronement ceremony has been prepared.

When all the officials returned to their respective offices after the court, Lu Tiaoyang, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, took Pan Sheng, the minister, to deliver the enthronement ceremony to the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng sent the notes to Gao Gong, but Gao Gong didn't read them. In fact, the notes were based on the previous process of the Ming Emperor's accession to the throne. Unless there is force majeure, the contents of the notes will not change.

"Are the ritual notes the same as before?"

Gao Gong just asked.

"It's all based on the previous procedures, there are no changes."

Zhang Juzheng replied.

"Then let it be like this. You and I both know that these cannot be changed casually."

Gao Gong replied.

After saying this, before Zhang Juzheng could speak, he shouted to the clerk outside the door: "Go and ask Mr. Gaoyi Gaoge to come over. I have something to discuss here."

Although Zhang Juzheng was surprised, he didn't say anything and just waited.

After a while, Gao Yi was summoned. After the three of them handed over to each other, Gao Gong took out the "Chen Wu Shi Shu" he had written, handed it to Zhang Juzheng, and said lightly: "Uncle, please read it and then invite Zi Xiang." Look, we’ll discuss it after reading it.”

Zhang Juzheng took the memorial and opened it to read. His expression soon changed slightly, but he soon returned to normal.

After reading it, he gave the memorial to Gao Yi and asked him to read it before finally returning it to Gao Gong.

"What do you think?"

Gao Gong looked at the memorial in his hand and asked.

After Gao Gong finished asking, he saw that Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi were silent, so he said to Zhang Juzheng, "Uncle, what are you thinking about?"

Zhang Juzheng, the second assistant, first asked him about his attitude, which was actually reasonable.

"I didn't think anything of it. I was just worried about the emperor..."

Zhang Juzheng sighed.

How can he say that this memorial kidnaps the interests of civil servants all over the world. If he says something wrong and the news spreads, it will have a very bad impact on him.

After all, what Gao Gong said most in his memorial was actually to reduce the rights of eunuchs, although it was actually not good for him.

Therefore, at this moment, he could only say this, and could not speak out against Gao Gong's memorial.

"Zixiang, what do you think?"

Gao Gong asked Gao Yi again.

"What the Lord Chief Assistant has played is absolutely correct. I have no objections."

Gaoyi replied immediately.

Gao Gong nodded slightly, and then said in a somewhat passionate tone: "I have something to say, please think twice."

After finishing his words, Gao Gong stood up and moved forward slowly, saying as he walked: "In this troubled autumn, I have been ordered to take care of you. I have a long way to go. I should cooperate sincerely to assist the young emperor in governing the world. I must not have two minds! "

After saying that, Gao Gong suddenly turned around and looked at Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi, "I was waiting here that day to receive the news of the late emperor's grand visit. At that time, I felt like the sky was falling apart.

Qianqing Palace, Your Majesty has entrusted the world to us and asked us to do our best to assist the Crown Prince."

Gao Gong accidentally mentioned his sadness again. The death of Emperor Longqing was the biggest blow to him, not only because of his deep relationship with Emperor Longqing, but also because he was confused about his future.

He is already sixty, and the prince Zhu Yijun is only ten years old.

With Emperor Longqing here, he could push forward the reforms he wanted without any burden, but when faced with a ten-year-old child master, how could he be so confident that he could go all out and ignore the teachings given to him.

What's more, in Zhu Yijun's heart, his status is no higher than Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde.

For a moment, Gao Gong felt sad in his heart. He felt as if everything he was thinking would turn into nothing. His defenses were shattered and he couldn't help shouting hoarsely: "O late Emperor, how can a ten-year-old child rule the world? Ugh. "

The next day, the new emperor's enthronement ceremony was held as scheduled, and Zhu Yijun took that position and became the nominal master of the Ming Empire.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, Zhang Juzheng received the first imperial edict, ordering him to go to Tianshou Mountain to inspect the Daxing Emperor's mausoleum project.

Now Emperor Longqing's Zi Palace is still parked in Hongxiao Hall. He will wait for the Tianshou Mountain Mausoleum to be completed and send it in at a selected date. This will be the end of the emperor's funeral.

Regarding this decree, Zhang Juzheng naturally accepted it and prepared to leave early tomorrow morning to check it out.

Of course, Zhang Juzheng had various speculations about leaving this matter to himself, but he had no choice but to think about it these past two days.

That day at the cabinet, Gao Gong apparently lost control of his emotions and made a gaffe.

Although Zhu Yijun did not ascend the throne, he was the future emperor after all. Gao Gong called him a ten-year-old child. Although he was not wrong, he was rude.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng looked at Gao Yi and saw that he also had a sad face. He did not have any doubts about Gao Gong's memorial. He vaguely guessed that he might have known about this before, and he was the only one who was kept in the dark.

Thinking that Gao Yi might lean towards Gao Gong in the future, Zhang Juzheng felt very uncomfortable.

How could he fight with Gao Gong in the cabinet?

Could it be that they would discuss it again after Wei Guangde came back, and then they would have to share the power with Wei Guangde again.

The key is that even if they are tied to Wei Guangde, they may not be able to fight Gao Gong.

Today is different from the past. After more than a year, Gao Gong has planted his own people in many key offices of the court.

Zhang Juzheng still hopes to control the court himself, rather than working with others.

He knows exactly who the "Chen Wu Shi Memorial" is aimed at.

As a civil servant, he cannot object, but he knows that after this memorial is sent to the palace, someone should be more anxious than him.

However, asking Feng Bao to fight back against Gao Gong is like hitting a rock with an egg.

Feng Bao should be given a knife, otherwise Feng Bao will be helpless and unable to deal with it.

You must know that the new emperor Zhu Yijun is the nominal ruler of the Ming Dynasty, but the actual ruler is Empress Chen in the harem. The president of major events is not just a casual talk, that is, the final word, and the effectiveness is higher than the cabinet led by Gao Gong.

Zhang Juzheng already knew that the Ministry of Revenue sent 200,000 taels of silver to the palace, and he also saw through Gao Gong's intention to win the support of Empress Chen and Concubine Li. With the help of that memorial, he wanted to undermine the Silijian and recreate the situation in the early days of Emperor Yingzong.

This is naturally good for the cabinet and the civil servants of the world, but it may not be good for Zhang Juzheng, because Gao Gong is above him.

Gao Gong cannot be allowed to overthrow Feng Bao.

It was just that Zhang Juzheng made a decision after sorting out the court situation. It was in his interest to assist Feng Bao in defeating Gao Gong, so that he could legitimately advance to the position of chief minister.

Moreover, Feng Bao had an advantage that these cabinet ministers did not have, that is, Feng Bao was a eunuch, a servant of the master in the palace.

Relatively speaking, whether it was Empress Chen or Concubine Li, they naturally believed the words of eunuchs more.

After "Chen Wu Shi Shu", Gao Gong should have mobilized the censors to impeach Feng Bao.

Zhang Juzheng thought so, so he wrote Gao Gong's inappropriate remarks in the cabinet that day on a note and handed it to the housekeeper You Qi before his carriage left the capital.

"Send it quietly to Feng Bao, don't let anyone find out."

Although he wanted to keep in touch with Feng Bao, Zhang Juzheng still cherished his feathers and didn't want people to notice that he and Feng Bao were still involved.

At least for now, his connection with Feng Bao has not been widely circulated outside.

At this time, Feng Bao had seen the memorial submitted by Gao Gong in the Silijian, and cursed Gao Gong's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart, but he still picked up the pen and wrote on the memorial: "I know, follow the ancestral system."

In fact, this was a euphemism for the emperor to ignore it, and Feng Bao was using it to deal with Gao Gong first.

However, after seeing this memorial, Feng Bao also became alert, and his previous arrogant spirit disappeared.