Chapter 840 Overturning the 929 Verdict? Difficult

Yang Bo was appointed as the Minister of Personnel, Tan Lun was appointed as the Minister of War, and the former Minister of Rites Lü Diaoyang entered the cabinet. Zhang Juzheng recommended Lu Shusheng for the vacant position of Minister of Rites. Wei Guangde was at a disadvantage no matter how you looked at it.

When he heard Zhang Juzheng arrange the appointment and dismissal of important officials, Wei Guangde frowned slightly.

Wei Guangde was actually mentally prepared for the previous three personnel appointments and dismissals, and he could accept them.

But the position of Minister of Rites was taken by someone recommended by Zhang Juzheng, and he was naturally unwilling.

However, when Wei Guangde realized who Lu Shusheng was recommended by Zhang Juzheng, his words of opposition were choked in his throat and he couldn't say them.

After Zhang Juzheng said that he preferred the Minister of Rites, the important official positions of the court had actually been assigned. He actually had ideas about the official positions of the third rank, but he couldn't communicate with Wei Guangde for a while.

This, the two sides had to communicate through letters, after all, it involved a wide range of people and many people.

List the positions and officials you want. If there is no overlap, it will be easy to appoint. If there is overlap, you have to discuss it carefully.

However, Zhang Juzheng dared to propose these officials at this time, which was the result of careful consideration. He believed that these people were the most suitable people to hold these positions at present, and Wei Guangde could hardly object.

Just as Zhang Juzheng calculated, not to mention the three people, Wei Guangde was just a little hesitant about Lu Shusheng.

He was not Zhang Juzheng's man, but he would maintain a good relationship with Zhang Juzheng.

This was Wei Guangde's judgment on Lu Shusheng after he entered the court. He should not side with Zhang Juzheng, even if he was Xu Jie's fellow villager.

Speaking of Lu Shusheng, he was not famous in history, but he was really the most capable one.

This word "gou" is of course not a kind of swindling, but a kind of stay-at-home, staying at home and not going out of the door or the second door.

Lu Shusheng was born in a farming family. He was poor but studious since childhood. He ranked first in the imperial examination in the 20th year of Jiajing, was selected as a Hanlin scholar, and was awarded the title of Hanlin editor. He served as the director of Nanjing Imperial College, Zuo Chunfang Zuo Yude, and Taichang Temple Minister.

Lu Shusheng was born in the fourth year of Zhengde. He was from Huating, Songjiang, Nanzhili. It is said that he was a descendant of Lu Zhi, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Because his father died early after he was born, Lu Shusheng lived with his mother Shen in his grandmother's house in Linjiajiao and changed his surname to Lin. It was not until the second year of Longqing that he restored his surname to Lu.

This kind of childhood experience actually happened more frequently in ancient times when the medical level was extremely low.

A man is the backbone of a family. Once the backbone collapses, the family will fall into a difficult life and will be easily bullied by the clan.

At this time, generally you can only move back to your mother's clan to live, and changing your surname is also a matter of course.

Otherwise, how can others support your family?

You know, life is not easy in this era.

Of course, for people in the officialdom, Lu Shusheng's experience is still rare. After all, truly poor people rarely get to take the imperial examinations and become officials because they can't afford it.

The so-called noble sons from poor families are just for listening. Those inspirational chicken soup articles are just fooling people.

Poor families have to work hard for three meals a day. There may be time for you to study and practice calligraphy, and take real money to participate in the imperial examinations.

You must know that only after passing the academy examination can you have the capital to support your family, because passing the academy examination is like becoming a scholar and enjoying the preferential treatment of the court.

Before this, there is actually nothing, just a waste of time and money.

And the academy examination is to compete among classmates in the same county.

Each time the academy examination, a county has only a few to ten places, and the elimination rate is as high as more than 90%. Therefore, although the academy examination is a low-level examination, it is the most difficult hurdle to cross in the imperial examination.

But this is not the legend of Lu Shusheng. The legendary part is that this guy seems to have no interest in being an official.

A Jinshi in the 20th year of Jiajing, he was the senior of Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, but now he is not serving in the court, and has even left the officialdom for many years.

Lu Shusheng was selected as a Hanlin Academy scholar, and then returned to his hometown to mourn. After the mourning period, he was appointed as an editor of the Hanlin Academy in December of the 24th year of Jiajing.

In the 31st year of Jiajing, Lu Shusheng urgently requested to return home, and soon encountered difficulties outside, and stayed at home to observe the mourning period.

In the 36th year of Jiajing, he was appointed as the director of the Nanjing Imperial College, and two years later he asked to resign to recuperate, and was not restored to his original position until the second month of the leap year of the 43rd year of Jiajing.

In May, he was promoted to Zuo Chunfang Zuo Yude, in charge of the affairs of the Nanjing Hanlin Academy. In October, Lu Shusheng was recalled to the capital, still in Zuo Chunfang, and concurrently as a Hanlin Academy reader, managing imperial edicts, but he did not take up the post and remained in Nanjing.

A year later, in October of the 44th year of Jiajing, Lu Shusheng was appointed as the Minister of Taichang Temple and concurrently in charge of the Nanjing Imperial College. He strictly followed the rules of study and wrote twelve rules to inspire the students.

This was also the period when Xu Jie was in power. Naturally, he took more care of his fellow villager. Knowing that he did not want to get involved in the affairs of the court, he arranged a position for him in Nanjing again. This time, Lu Shusheng was very happy to take up the post.

In November of the 45th year of Jiajing, Xu Jie wanted to start preparing for his retirement life and began to plan again. Not only did he promote Zhang Juzheng, but he also looked at his fellow villager. The court promoted Lu Shusheng to the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but he again claimed to be ill and did not take up the post.

I don’t know whether he really didn’t want to leave his hometown or the water in the city couldn’t support him. Anyway, Lu Shusheng didn’t want to come to Beijing to be an official.

At the beginning of the first year of Longqing, the imperial court once again appointed Lu Shusheng as the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He resigned in March, but was not approved. Emperor Longqing also asked him to participate in the compilation of "Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty" and serve as vice president, but Lu Shusheng still claimed that he was ill. He retired and was finally allowed to return to his hometown for recuperation in April of the same year.

In March of the second year of Longqing's reign, Lu Shusheng was still appointed as the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. However, he claimed to be ill again and could not take up his post. He asked for a break, but was not allowed.

In April of the following year, after repeated requests, Emperor Longqing had no choice but to allow him to return to his hometown for medical treatment. In fact, during this year, Lu Shusheng did not come to Beijing at all and stayed in his hometown.

Emperor Longqing's will was actually more about saving face for himself.

What's it like if you can't summon a single minister back?

However, it was also because of Lu Shusheng's character that Emperor Longqing was very interested in him.

After all, who among those who participated in the imperial examination would not be tempted by high-ranking officials and generous salaries. There were very few people who were as indifferent to fame and fortune as Lu Shusheng. They were relatively just people who could be trusted.

At least, by appointing such a person to an important position in the court, you don't have to worry about him having evil intentions and trying to usurp the throne.

In December of this year, Emperor Longqing once again issued an edict, instructing Lu Shusheng to take charge of Zhanshifu affairs in his original position and be responsible for teaching common people. However, he still used the word "sick and unable to go to official positions".

At this point, Emperor Longqing was completely helpless and had no choice but to give a warning.

Giving a warning means that the emperor granted him leave and allowed him to return home with his official seal and ribbon for medical treatment. In fact, it was Emperor Longqing who found a place for himself.

For such a person, maybe he would be biased towards Zhang Juzheng because of Xu Jie's relationship, but he would never completely fall in favor of Zhang Juzheng, otherwise he would not have stopped coming to the capital.

You must know that with his Hanlin background and the temptation of the official position of Minister of Civil Affairs, he is actually qualified to join the cabinet.

Moreover, his status as a Jinshi during the 20th year of Jiajing's reign can be said to be older than that of most officials in the current court.

It can be said that Zhang Juzheng was sure that Wei Guangde would not object before recommending this person. However, Wei Guangde heard this, and the hesitation in his heart was more about whether this man would take up the post.

"Lord Chief Assistant."

As soon as Wei Guangde opened his mouth, Zhang Juzheng waved his hand and said, "We are all acquaintances, so don't call me that again in the future. We should stick to the original calling. I call you Shandai, and you can call me Uncle, okay?"

Wei Guangde nodded, smiled, and then continued: "Uncle, this senior Lu is naturally a good candidate to take over the Ministry of Etiquette, but can you let him become an official?

As far as I know, this person refused the late emperor's solicitation many times. "

Wei Guangde was still in the court at that time, and although he had never met Lu Shusheng, it was rare for the emperor to repeatedly push back on an official position.

It's funny to say that since the Jiajing Dynasty, Lu Shusheng has repeatedly declined appointments from the imperial court. People inside and outside the imperial court believe that he has a high integrity. The higher his reputation, whenever he encounters an important position, Lu Shusheng will be recommended first, lest he will not be appointed. .

At this time, Zhang Juzheng became the chief minister. When choosing the candidate for the position of Minister of Rites, he naturally came to mind and hoped to use his reputation to gain support from the court.

After all, although the expulsion of Gao Gong was the order of Empress Chen, Concubine Li, and the young emperor, when the government and the public discussed it privately, they still believed that Zhang Juzheng was more or less involved in it from the perspective of profit and played an important role. It's a small role, but the purpose is naturally to be the first assistant.

However, Wei Guangde's reputation was not damaged. After all, he was in a special situation. He should have been on the ship when the turmoil in the capital was at its worst.

With the current communication conditions of Ming Dynasty, they would not think that Wei Guangde was involved in this matter.

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Zhang Juzheng knew that Wei Guangde actually accepted this candidate, and immediately said: 'Simple, both of you and I will send a letter to Senior Lu, asking him to come out and take charge of the Ministry of Rites. ’

This is to show a gesture and show it to outsiders.

Wei Guangde hesitated for a moment and nodded. Zhang Juzheng wanted to improve his reputation, and so did Wei Guangde, and Lu Shusheng was a good target to improve his reputation.

As for ability, after all, he has left the court for many years, so Wei Guangde is not worried about this.

Wei Guangde had already sorted out the affairs of the Ministry of Rites when he was the minister. In fact, it was not difficult at all and it was very leisurely.

To be honest, among the six departments, only the Minister of Rites can be considered a part of Qingliu, and the other five departments cannot be.

"One more thing, I hope Shandai can be accommodating."

Zhang Juzheng finished talking about the business and spoke hesitantly.

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's appearance, Wei Guangde felt strange and couldn't help but ask: "Brother Uncle, what else is difficult for you? You might as well tell me, if it's not about right and wrong, I won't stop him."

Zhang Juzheng hesitated for a moment and then said, "Shandai heard about my teacher's family affairs."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde suddenly understood what Zhang Juzheng was asking for. It was not the punishment of Xu Jie's sons. He remembered reading the Di newspaper and collecting information that Xu Jie's sons were sentenced to exile by Gao Gong.

However, Wei Guangde was not clear about the later transactions between Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng. Although they were accommodating, they were still criminals after all, but they were not sent far away, but to the Zhejiang Health Center next door.

In fact, Zhang Juzheng had the idea of ​​​​sending people to Jiujiang Guards at the beginning, thinking that Wei Guangde and Xu Jie were not political enemies, at least they did not have deep prejudices against each other.

Send the person to Jiujiang Wei and ask the Wei family to take care of him.

"Uncle, do you want to reverse the case? It's difficult."

Wei Guangde said immediately.

The evidence in the Xu Jie case is conclusive, otherwise it would not have caused such a big fuss.

You know, the attack on the Xu family's mansion in the countryside spread throughout the Ming Dynasty. It was a big scandal, and Wei Guangde had heard about it.

The Xu family was attacked by the oppressed people, and many villagers gathered around Xu Jie to curse. This shows how unpopular the things Xu Jie's sons did were.

It is said that rabbits do not eat the grass around their nests, but Xu Jiazi even ate the grass around their nests, and it was really ugly to see them eating.

In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, corrupt officials remained corrupt while in office, but they would often restrain themselves after returning to their hometowns. They would even use money to build bridges and pave roads in their hometowns to build their reputations, and most of them would not commit crimes in their hometowns.

After all, in this era, the family has a very high status in everyone's heart. Even if you become a pavilion elder, you still have to bend down in front of the family elders, otherwise your reputation will be ruined.

A reputation of not respecting the elderly is enough to make you irrecoverable.

What Xu Jiazi did made people really angry.

"But after all, the teacher is old and his children are not around. As a student, I can't bear it."

Zhang Juzheng knew the difficulty of this matter and said.

"It's difficult to overturn the verdict, but I just have to wait two months, and when His Majesty promulgates a general amnesty for the whole country, they will be included in it and released. This is my minimum requirement."

Wei Guangde didn't want to do it right, but he didn't want to be infamous either. He just used the opportunity of the emperor's general amnesty to vaguely let people go.

In fact, like the verdict of Xu Jiazi, because it included the crime of murder and conspiracy to seize national wealth, even if there is an edict of amnesty, logically speaking, their sins will not be forgiven.

What is pardoned is actually only some minor crimes, as well as some undiscovered crimes among the people, but they cannot be serious crimes.

People like Xu Jiazi naturally fall into the category of serious crimes and cannot be pardoned.

However, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Juzheng to get involved in the amnesty edict and include the Xu family. As long as the news was blocked a little and no one mentioned it at the time, no one would talk about it later.

Even if the incident comes to light many years later, it can still be excused by the minister's dereliction of duty.

As long as the Xu family does not commit any other crimes in the past few years, if the time comes to ask for mercy from the emperor and talk to the adults in the court, the incident will be over.

Of course Zhang Juzheng wanted to overturn the case for the Xu family. After all, these charges were a stain on the teacher Xu Jie's life.

If the original case cannot be overturned, the Xu family will forever be known as the guilty party.

However, Zhang Juzheng knew the difficulty of the operation. As the chief assistant, he could not fool him by simply calling a deer a horse.

When Wei Guangde promised to turn a blind eye and release people during the amnesty, he was already benevolent and righteous. This should also be due to Xu Jie's status as the former chief minister.

Well, in the final analysis, officials protect each other. Who knows whether the descendants of the Wei family will also commit the crimes of the Xu family in the future.

With the precedent of Xu Jiazi, it will be easy to be excused when the time comes.

The law, after all, serves those in power.