Chapter 29 Chapter 29 The New Cabinet
Ye Xianggao arrived in Beijing in November of the 35th year of Wanli.
The season is already cold, and the day he arrived was raining and snowing, and the north wind was howling. Not only was it extremely cold, but it was also difficult to walk in the rain and snow, as if it was foretelling his future in the officialdom. The journey will also be so difficult——
Then, the first sentence he heard about the latest news about the court from the officials who greeted him turned out to be: "Master Yu Shenxing has passed away!"
He almost cried out in surprise.
"Only a few days after entering the cabinet, he passed away forever—couldn't it be that his ambition was unpaid——"
But this time there were only three people who were pushed into the cabinet. Yu Shenxing passed away first, leaving only himself and Li Tingji, plus the former cabinet minister Zhu Geng, there were only three people in total, and Zhu Geng was old and sick—— In the future, the heavy responsibility of state affairs will be taken by two new cabinet ministers?
He wanted to ask: "Will Lord Long Live add one or two more?"
However, the words stopped at the tip of the tongue.
It's useless to ask this question, so let's just forget it—although he has stayed in Nanjing for nine years, he is no stranger to the affairs of the court in Beijing; It took him a long time to resign before he reluctantly made a court push and approved three people to join the cabinet; now, it is impossible to make up people with Yu Shenxing's death.
"Ugh--"
A long sigh came out from his chest, but he still felt tightness in his chest, choked by something unknown, and didn't let out with the sigh.
It was originally a happy event for a new official to take office, but he only felt a sense of heaviness—his back slumped unconsciously, his mood had aged ten years imperceptibly, and his brows were even more tightly frowned.
He thought: "I can only take one step at a time—"
From the next day, he started to go through all the formalities for his appointment, and got busy early in the morning; but unexpectedly, he rushed to the court in a hurry, and what he faced was a deserted scene that surprised him.
Emperor Wanli did not go to court at all, Zhu Geng, the chief assistant of the cabinet, was ill, and Li Tingji, the second assistant, also said that he was ill. Except for those who had "gone by themselves", less than half of the officials in the six ministries remained—he was astonished to say that I walked into an illusory, non-existent and absurd world. I couldn't believe that everything in front of me was real, but I couldn't help but face the reality in front of me.
He secretly tried his best to restrain the feelings in his heart, try to show a peaceful face, and saluted everyone in front of him one by one; everyone was very polite to him, and all the greetings were in line with the etiquette - just like that, a half day passed, Emperor Wanli never showed up, and the officials were used to standing still for half a day, and then, without doing anything, went down to the court, and each went back to the house, like birds and beasts scattered.
After the crowd dispersed, his sense of astonishment quickly returned: "Is this the Ming court?"
The current situation is far worse than nine years ago. Nine years ago, even though Emperor Wanli did not go to court, there were many officials in the six ministries, and there were also many people who dared to speak out. Well, at least there is still a "qi" in the court, but now, there is nothing.
What he sees is that people's hearts are lax and weak-like a life that has been in the period of recovery.
"This is actually the Ming court—"
However, he couldn't help but accept all the facts!
What's more, he himself is the new cabinet scholar of this dying and extinct imperial court!
There is no one in the empty Golden Temple——
In the afternoon, he went to visit the Chief Assistant Zhu Geng according to the etiquette.
It is true that Zhu Geng is seriously ill—it is not that he has a "political disease" and stays away from the limelight at home.
I am old and have been sick for a long time!
The housekeeper of the Zhu Mansion courteously led him to the hall, served tea and snacks very respectfully, and then carefully told him about Zhu Geng's condition.
Every time he heard a sentence, his heart sank a little, and he couldn't say things like "I'm here to ask for your help".
A thought slowly rose in my heart: "The old grandpa is afraid that he will pass away soon!"
Of course, he didn't say anything, but he couldn't help but shiver, and his whole body went numb.
"The elders of my family have resigned from office several times. However, there is no imperial decree from the Long Live Lord, so the elders dare not leave Beijing without authorization and return to their hometown to recuperate—now, it is really—heavy——"
The old butler was talking eloquently, and turned his head to ask him: "If my lord can see Tianyan, I hope that I will beg on behalf of my boss to allow me to resign and return to my hometown—"
He was speechless, and after a while of obedience, he said goodbye and left.
After getting into the carriage, he was so sad that he almost shed tears, and he couldn't control his emotions after repeated efforts; he had no choice but to cancel his original plan to visit Li Tingji, and returned to his residence sadly.
Throughout the night, his mood could not be improved, and he thought over and over in his heart: "There are such ridiculous things in the world—the chief minister of the cabinet is about to die, and the emperor seems to be ignorant—"
He was not only complaining about Zhu Geng, but also thought of the embarrassment of the entire Ming Dynasty, and his heart was full of sadness.
Then, as the days passed, this "ridiculous" situation happened to him.
That is, since he arrived in Beijing, in the blink of an eye, a month has passed, but he has not been able to see the face of Emperor Wanli.
After more than a month, I finally saw each other, but it was just like a flash.
It was on New Year's Day, during a routine court ceremony.
The ceremony was carried out just like the previous years since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty—Emperor Wanli finally got up on this day like the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty. Surrounded by eunuchs, he came to the Meridian Gate gracefully. He received congratulations from civil and military officials amidst the thundering music; but before he knelt on the ground and the officials who called Shan Huan live stopped and got up, he had already left tremblingly with the support of the eunuchs.
The officials who got up after shouting long live seemed to be used to this strange phenomenon, and they were no longer surprised by it. No one was surprised, and they left calmly without waiting for the ceremony to be completed.
The only one who was too stupefied to accept the fact was him, the newly appointed cabinet scholar——
Standing alone on the vast hall, he was at a loss in his heart. Pieces of white snow fell, and the world was also at a loss; on the New Year's Day in the thirty-sixth year of Wanli, neither the Daming Palace nor his heart was at all happy.
Then, the whole situation went back to the way it was before, and he still couldn't see the face of Emperor Wanli.
One day, two days, one month, two months, half a year, one year, Emperor Wanli didn't say he summoned his cabinet ministers on his own initiative, even if he entrusted eunuchs to beg again and again, Emperor Wanli still didn't see him.
In November, Zhu Geng died of old age——Among the cabinet bachelors, there was even one less "name" in the account.
Li Tingji resigned from office several times before Zhu Geng's death. Emperor Wanli ignored him, so he stayed behind closed doors and continued to suffer from his political illness.
He is the only one who really works in the cabinet—but he is called "assistant minister", but he never sees the face of the emperor who is assisted; One was approved.
"What is a 'cabinet'? What is a 'assistant minister'? What is a monarch? What is a minister?"
He always looked up to the sky and asked himself in a daze, but after a year, he became a little familiar with Emperor Wanli and all kinds of strange phenomena in the court, and he also began to adjust his mood and change his direction of thinking: "But what else?" What other methods can improve the government?"
No longer counting on Emperor Wanli to make changes, he tried to find other powers——
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