Chapter 22 The 21st round of public officials eating melons and guessing wild riddles

However, after obtaining the signatures of Zhang Juzheng and Gaoyi that day, Gao Gong sent the copy of "Chen Wushishu" to the newly enthroned Emperor Wanli in the form of a cabinet official copy.The next day, the eunuch who delivered the decree sent out an imperial approval, which was only seven short words: "Understood, follow the ancestral system." But the manuscript was not published.The old system: After the emperor has read the memorials sent by the cabinet to the palace, they should be sent back to the cabinet for drafting, and then the emperor will "approve Zhu" and promulgate them.However, as the first official cabinet copy signed by the three Gu Ming ministers, it was not released. This cannot but be said to be an extremely serious political incident.Immediately, the ministers of various government ministries and officials from all walks of life knew about this incident, and they all expressed strong dissatisfaction.Of course, the most dissatisfied is Gao Gong himself.It should be noted that "Chen Wu Shi Shu" is the first step in his carefully planned expulsion of Feng Bao. If it is a squib at the beginning, it will be even more difficult to move in the future.Therefore, as soon as Gao Gong received the decree, he quickly wrote with a pen, and then made another commentary:

 Chen Gaogong and Gao Yi would like to ask: On the tenth day of the first month, the ministers and others respectfully submitted five urgent matters to support the New Deal.Today, Fu Fengyu criticized "I know, follow the ancestral system".The ministers and others steal the five things, all of which are the stories of the ancestors.And there are still program conditions.If you order the Secretary of Rites to open the folder and issue all the chapters, if you don’t have a copy, please send the feudal version to the department for future reference, etc. It's all about timing.It must be expressly approved, and it is feasible for all yamen to comply.On the day when the Emperor Kuang ascended to the throne, when the people outside were waiting and watching, the ministers and others did not receive the invoice for the first statement, that is, they did not receive clear permission to carry it out, fearing that they would lose the hope of the people.The ministers and others did not dare to send the book to the department, so they still sealed it before entering.Fuwang the emperor inspected and sent out the draft papers to the ministers and others. If the ministers and others made mistakes, they had their own judgments.Ancestral laws, which one can tolerate.Ministers and others have nothing to do, just look up to them.

This second memorial was sent to the palace as an urgent mail, and the next day, the palace finally returned the supplementary copy to the cabinet for drafting.Gao Gong was greatly encouraged by this, and he drafted the emperor's comment that had been brewing in his heart for a long time, and he completed it in one stroke: the performances by Lan Qing and others are more beneficial than current affairs, and they are loyal.All follow the agreement. Almost on the same day, the emperor's "approval of Zhu" arrived at the cabinet, and there was no amendment to the draft bill.After receiving this imperial decree, Gao Gong finally let go of his hanging heart.He immediately notified the address of this matter to the major yamen in Beijing and to the state capitals across the country. At the same time, he instructed the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Rites to send the official manuscripts they had written long ago to the palace.A day later, that is, this morning, Gao Gong went to work in a sedan chair. As soon as he arrived at the house, the eunuch who sent this book sent these two memorials to the cabinet for drafting.Gao Gong refused to let the eunuch send him away, and drew up two tickets in front of him.

The draft draft of the Ministry of Punishments is: Reading.Jiusi, the demon king, used evil medicine to enter the first emperor, confusing the saints, heinous crimes, and the three justices must be severely punished. The proposed draft of the official version of the Ministry of Rites is: Accurate.My dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and I first inherited the great rule, so I should reward you as a code. After drafting the ticket, Gao Gong looked at the few lines of cursive script which he had practiced many times in private, even though he had just transcribed it right now, and was very satisfied.He ordered the clerk to reward the eunuch with five taels of silver, and asked him to take the two drafts back to the palace together with the copies, and hand them over to the emperor for "approval".Then, they sent people to call Han Yi, Luo Zun, etc. to Shizhong to come to Huiyi.

It's the scorching June, and it hasn't rained for a long time. In the city of Beijing, the streets and alleys are full of scorching hot wind, but there is no wind today.Those who sat in the work were all small sedan chairs carried by four people. Under the sun, the inside of the sedan chair was as hot as a steamer.When they came to the six subject corridors in the Meridian Gate, everyone was sweating profusely.She was dressed in a sixth-grade summer cloth official uniform embroidered with egrets, and her chest and back were soaked in sweat.After they each entered the duty room, they wiped their faces and shook their fans, the heat had not been exhausted. After receiving Gao Gong's instructions, they all swarmed to the court room on the second floor of the cabinet with the servants.

Regarding the relationship between the cabinet and the six departments, we have to start with the establishment of the official position in Shizhong.At the beginning of the founding of the country, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, in view of the lessons of the Song and Yuan dynasties, weak monarchs and strong ministers, and the loss of control and even collapse of court power, coupled with the stimulation of the left prime minister Hu Weiyong's conspiracy to oppose him, prompted him to abolish the prime minister system and divide the prime minister's power among six departments.But in this way, he was worried that the power of the Ministry would be too heavy and threaten the imperial power, so he set up six departments corresponding to the six departments to control and supervise the power of the six departments.These six subjects are not affiliated to any department, and are directly responsible to the emperor himself.In this way, not only did he have the power of admonishment to participate in and discuss state affairs, he also increased the power of supervision and impeachment, and all civil and military officials of the court were supervised by him.In terms of official rank, although there are only six grades in the six subjects, even those three princes and nine ministers with the most important titles, ministers and ministers, have to bow their hands when meeting them.Regarding the special political status of the six subjects, there is one more thing to prove.The major yamen of the government are located in various parts of the capital, but only the cabinet and the six departments are located in the Forbidden City.As soon as you enter the Meridian Gate, go to the Huiji Gate to the right, which is the cabinet; go to the Guiji Gate to the left, and you will find the Six Section Corridor, which shows the dignity of the Six Section officials.According to the practice handed down from the previous dynasties, on the first and fifteenth days of each month, the six divisions will go to the cabinet and the ministers to bow to each other, which is called "huiyi", which is equivalent to a regular meeting for exchanging voices.It's just that today's meeting is neither fish nor fowl, one is that the time is wrong, two days away from June 15th; two is that the cabinet except for Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi are not in the cabinet, and Zhang Juzheng is inspecting Longqing in Tianshou Mountain The emperor's mausoleum has not yet returned, and Gao Yi is sick at home; the three offerings have not yet arrived, only seven or eight have come, and they are all Gao Gong's disciples. To paraphrase an official saying, they are all "people in the pocket".

Han Yi and his gang sat down in the court room on the second floor of the cabinet. Only then did they know that Zhang Juzheng and Gao Yi were not in the cabinet, and Gao Gong couldn't go upstairs immediately because he was in a hurry to issue a few important messages. .Immediately, they were not so serious and refined, and started joking around.Han Yi had been away from the cabinet for less than a month, and he felt that he was still half the owner of the place. He went downstairs to find the caterer who was in charge of the logistics supply, and brought up two watermelons soaked in water.There is a deep well in the cabinet. I put watermelon in it to soak for one night the first day, and pick it up and eat it the next day.

After eating the watermelon, Li Ke, who has always been generous and fat, burped Lu Shude in the middle of the matter, sat on the chair and raised his legs, and gestured to Cheng Wen in the middle of the matter, who was sitting in the opposite engineering department, and said: How about you guess the riddle?" Cheng Wen had a sunken face, and his chin was full of watermelon juice from eating. Now he took out a handbag from his cuff and replied while wiping it: "You can tell." Lu Shude pointed to the basin full of watermelon rinds in front of him and said, "That's it, type two words."

"What are the two characters?" Cheng Wen asked. "Tell you what else do you need to guess?" Lu Shude blinked his eyes and said treacherously, "I'm afraid everyone here has tried these two words." Cheng Wen was dazed and couldn't think of a clue, and the rest of the people were all staring at the pot of melon rind, stumped for a while. "Just remind you." Luo Zun said. "Haha, I didn't expect this riddle, which can be understood at a glance, to stump you, a group of scholars who are full of knowledge." Lu Shude laughed three times, and he was very proud, "Okay, let me remind you, Zhang Shengyue Next meeting Yingying, why?"

"Cheating." A young man blurted out during the incident. "Well, it's on the edge." "Ah, I got it," Luo Zun slapped his hands, grinned loudly before opening his mouth, and scolded, "Good old Lu, you are talking such nasty things in the center of the cabinet." "What exactly is it?" Han Yi asked. Luo Zun held back his laughter and said, "If my guess is correct, the answer to these two words is——Pogua." "Pogua? Ah, really, what is this if it's not a pot of Pogua!" Cheng Wen slapped his forehead, and the sudden realization was very funny, which caused a burst of laughter.

Luo Zun was good at teasing people, but now seeing a whole room being fooled by Lu Shude, he intends to take revenge.He stretched out his finger to Lu Shude, and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, a beautiful woman at the age of twenty-eight is the period of breaking the melon. The meaning is very clear. A woman who grows to twenty-eight to sixteen years old is like a peach after the Dragon Boat Festival. It is finally ripe , You can enjoy it. When the melon is ripe, it is said to break the melon. But, I heard that you went to Hangzhou for business last year, where you prostituted a beautiful girl who was only fifteen years old. This is still a cucumber, brother Lu, you It's a waste of money." "Yes, I have also heard about this incident, Lao Lu, now you are honest and frank, how romantic that night was." "Yes, confess." The crowd booed for a while, but Lu Shude couldn't stand it anymore, and quickly argued: "You are wronging good people. That night, the prefect of Hangzhou held a hall meeting for my younger brother. Indeed, a fifteen-year-old girl came to the hall with the theater troupe, and the prefect let her go. She drank with me, sang a few tunes, that's all." "Look at what you said about yourself, you have become a saint who guards his body like jade," Luo Zun continued to taunt, "If you say that there are no fish that eat cats, but there are cats that eat fish all over the world." , the first one is your brother Lu." "This also includes you, Lord Luo." Lu Shude retorted. Seeing that the two of them were getting angry, their expressions were a little uneasy.Cheng Wen, who has always been a peacemaker, came out to smooth things over and said: "Lao Lu said a joke, why should everyone take it seriously. In fact, although Lao Lu's riddle is appropriate, it is not elegant. I will say another riddle now. The answer is more vulgar than Lao Lu's, but it is very elegant." "Yo, Cheng Wen can do this too?" Han Yi smiled happily, "Tell me about it." With a serious face, Cheng Wen said, "First of all, I did not invent this riddle. After the answer is revealed, I will tell who the author is. This riddle is one word—Hui." "Back?" Lu Shude forgot his unhappiness and interjected. "Yes, back." "hit what?" "It's an action of beating a man and a woman." There was a moment of silence in the room.Among this gang, only Han Yi is older, in his forties, and the rest are in their early thirties.We usually work together in a joint office, and we are used to being crazy.Cheng Wen has always been short of words, but today he came up with such a difficult "word puzzle", and everyone searched their brains and couldn't figure out an answer. "Back, love between men and women, how can these two things be connected?" "Well, this word puzzle is tricky!" Everyone couldn't think of a clue, and after some discussion, they clamored for Cheng Wen to tell the answer by himself. Cheng Wen rubbed the blurry eyes, and said slowly: "The answer to this mystery is also two words, oral sex." "Blowjob?" Someone yelled. Cheng Wen went on to say: "Big mouth with small mouth, what is it if it's not oral sex?" Only then did everyone realize the mystery, and they leaned forward and backward with a "boom" laugh.Han Yi laughed out his tears. He pointed at Cheng Wen and said pantingly, "I never thought that you, Cheng Wen, would have such a heart when you look at someone with a slumped head." Cheng Wen didn't think it was funny, he still replied with a straight face: "I have already said that this crossword puzzle was made up by someone else." "Who?" "Feng Bao, the eunuch who has just taken office as the chief inspector of etiquette and the admiral of the East Factory." "Him?" Luo Zun called out, shaking his head like a rattle, "He has no roots at all, yet he can still compose such anagrams?" Cheng Wen replied: "I, Cheng Wen, never tell lies. This is absolutely true, and it was told by Feng Bao's housekeeper, Xu Jue." "Where did you find out?" Han Yi asked. "From an antique dealer." Cheng Wen went on to tell the whole story: he had a commoner friend who was in business, who was proficient in writing and ink, and had a Confucian style.In my spare time, I like to visit antique shops and search for some antiques and ancient calligraphy and paintings.One day, when I went to Guyazhai antique shop on Qipan Street, I saw a erotic painting, the silk was extremely fine, and the dyeing was exquisite.The men and women in the painting are completely different from the obscene and unsightly erotic paintings that are popular nowadays.The men and women in the picture are only looking at each other from a distance, but they all cover their faces with fans at close range.A floating man bent down to peek at the bathing girl in the curtain, and the bathing girl only showed a round jade elbow, which made people dream endlessly, but she was still full of happiness.The businessman felt that this was the best work among the erotic paintings, so he wanted to buy it and asked the antique dealer for a price.The antique dealer told that this erotic painting came from Ryukyu, Japan, and it was hard to come by across the ocean, so they asked for fifty taels of silver.The merchant thought it was expensive and bargained with it, but the antique dealer insisted on not letting it go.The businessman was hesitating, when he suddenly heard someone beside him say: "Fifty taels of silver is not expensive, I bought it." Saying so, he asked the attendant who followed him to cash the silver note and took the painting away.Looking at the back of the buyer, the businessman bossed around and looked rich and powerful, feeling very annoyed in his heart.At this time, the antique dealer who sold it for a good price said to him with a mysterious face: "Guest officer, don't you know this buyer? He often visits my shop and never talks about the price when he sees good things. He bought it and left without leaving his name. Later, it was finally clear that he bought it for his master. His master likes to collect antique calligraphy and paintings. According to my guess, the master behind the scenes must be worth a lot. Once I saw a The erotic painting is confusing, and the buyer played a crossword puzzle of "Hui" for me to guess. Only then did I know that his owner is a romantic talent." Who is the "talent"?The antique dealer shook his head in a daze.After some time, the merchant went to Guyazhai for a stroll again, and the antique dealer said to him: "The name of the big buyer has been found out, it's called Xu Jue." mentioned this matter. After listening to the story told by Cheng Wen, the first group of teachers were immediately aroused like coals of fire.Everyone was still groping for something behind Feng Bao's privacy, but Lu Shude already spat loudly, cursing: "Damn it, I've heard that Feng Bao is fake and elegant, so he can collect antique calligraphy and paintings, but I didn't expect him to love it more. Erotic pictures." Luo Zun thought more deeply. He glanced at all the colleagues present, and said meaningfully: "It seems that the rumors in the past that Feng Bao privately made obscene weapons to present to the late emperor are not groundless. In the East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace The erotic pottery on display might have been made by the late Emperor who listened to Feng Bao’s advice and specially went to Jingdezhen to burn it.” A reporter said: "If you want to find out the authenticity of this matter, you have to find Meng Chong to testify." "Meng Chong?" Han Yi shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I visited his house last night, the original intention was to let him disclose some of Feng Bao's evil deeds in the palace. The butler came out to prevaricate, saying that he was sick, his head hurt like it exploded, and he couldn't see any guests." "This is a softie." Someone scolded. "It's no wonder he," Lu Shude said, "I heard that a few days ago, Feng Bao sent ten servants to work in his house, they were there to take care of him, but they were secretly monitoring him and forbidding him to associate with anyone. " Talking like this, these officials who wanted to bring down Feng Bao felt like a dog biting a hedgehog.At this time, it was Cheng Wen who spoke again: "Feng Bao, if there is really something hard in his crotch, he must be the number one whore in the world. Now he, even if he buys all the erotic pictures in the world, he is just a feast for the eyes. I can't think of it The explanation is that Concubine Li Gui has always been dignified and serious, and her mother respects the world. Feng Bao was originally a master of adultery and robbers, how did he hide his face and win Concubine Li's trust?" "This is Feng Bao's brilliance," Luo Zun replied, staring at Cheng Wen, "This man hides a knife in his smile, and his mind is extraordinary. Only because of this, the chief assistant has a heart disease that cannot be resolved." "Shoufu's heart disease is also the heart disease of scholars in the world. I think today's meeting..." Before Han Yi finished speaking, he suddenly heard heavy footsteps in the corridor, and in an instant, he saw Ma Congyun, the clerk, walk into the court room and report: "The Chief Assistant has arrived." As soon as Gao Gong entered the door, all the officials had already stood up with their clothes on, and saluted him together.Gao Gong waved for everyone to sit down, and he himself took the empty host seat in the middle.Gao Gong was always serious, and these disciples were afraid of his majesty.But today they saw that the seat owner was in a good mood, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes were dense like spider webs and the two profound decrees that twisted his mouth all overflowed with rare smiles.Once seated, Gao Gong glanced at the disciples and said with a smile: "Just now I heard chattering in the corridor and it was very lively. Why did it become silent when I came?" As soon as the chief assistant arrives, the position is respected and humbled.Han Yi's titled official department was given to Shizhongnai as the head of the six departments, so it was his turn to answer.He bowed his body, and replied respectfully: "The students are talking about eunuch Feng Bao, and they are thinking that it is the right time to impeach Feng Bao now." Gao Gong nodded slightly.He was sitting on the west side, when the sunlight came in through the east window, dazzled his eyes a little bit.Seeing this, Han Yi quickly got up and went to lower the curtains of the windows on the east side, and the light in the room suddenly softened.Gao Gong didn't seem to mind Han Yi's hospitality, he just looked at everyone and said with a smile: "The old man knows that you are all telling jokes. I am in a good mood today, so I also have fun and tell you a joke." The first assistant had a taste for telling jokes, this was the first time in history, all the disciples were flattered, and they applauded and welcomed him.Gao Gong signaled everyone to be quiet, and said: "Twenty years after Jiajing, Emperor Sejong devoted himself to cultivating Xuan, and handed over all important military and state affairs to the traitor Yan Song. Yan Song has been favored and has lasted for more than 20 years. This person has been in the government for a long time. Coupled with sexual greed, it became a trend to sell officials and nobles for a while. In the civil and military dynasties, no one dared to beat him. What was even more annoying, a large number of people who were sycophants all joined his sect and worked as minions. At that time, I was sent to the Imperial Academy As a historian, I went to ask Yan Song for instructions one day. When I arrived at his private house, a group of officials who asked for Yan Song were like ants gathering. At this time, Yan Song just went out to greet the guests, and the people waiting to see him immediately stood up in their clothes, holding their breath and holding their breath. Bowing like a chicken pecking rice, this situation is extremely ridiculous. I couldn't help laughing for a while, so I laughed. Yan Song thought I was presumptuous, so he asked me why I laughed so much. I replied calmly, "I just saw the Prime Minister come out, gentlemen Awful, reminds me of two poems in Han Changli's "Cockfighting Tour": "The big chicken comes boldly, and the little chicken waits." After Yan Song heard this, he also broke his face and smiled. Wait for him to go back to the house and take a closer look. After thinking about it, I decided that I was deliberately ridiculing him, so I held a grudge and looked for opportunities to retaliate against me, and finally deposed me as a citizen. According to common sense, when encountering such injustices, the six divisions will give the matter, the thirteen Officials like Yushi had to stand up and make up their own words to uphold justice and impeach lawlessness. But at that time, all the officials were frightened by Yan Song's power, and none of them dared to stand up and uphold justice. Lin's teeth were cold. At this time, a minister had scabies. He invited an imperial doctor from the imperial hospital to treat him. After seeing the doctor, the imperial doctor said to the minister, "Your Excellency, you don't need to prescribe medicine for this scabies." , It can be cured only if the six departments come here.” The minister was confused by the words of the imperial doctor, and asked: “How do we need the six departments to treat scabies?” The imperial doctor replied, “The six departments are given They grew tongues during the incident and dared not speak, so they had to practice licking.' Then Shangshu realized that the imperial doctor was cursing people around the corner, so he burst into laughter, and the story spread." Gao Gong finished telling this "joke" vividly, but none of the presenters could laugh.They felt like they had been slapped in the face.Because this "joke" came from the mouth of their revered lord, Shoufu, not only could they not explode, but they had to figure out why they would bow to Shoufu today, so why did they make such a harsh opening statement? Others were still in a daze, but Cheng Wen was a little bit reluctant. He said angrily: "Master Yuanfu is not telling a joke, but a piece of historical fact. I heard it when I first came to the Sixth Division. But the students think that the imperial doctor attacked the words The official's words are not enough to listen to. As Shoufu said, first there is a big chicken like Yan Song in the court, and then there will be a group of chickens including Yanguan. The government is still in chaos!" What Cheng Wenwen wanted to explain was "the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked", but he couldn't express it clearly when he was impulsive, and he was so confused that he was confused.That "competitive" look made everyone laugh again, and with this smile, the atmosphere in the room eased down again.Gao Gong knew that everyone misunderstood him, so he took the opportunity to explain: "Looking at the faces of everyone's ice sculptures and clay sculptures just now, I can tell that you don't like the jokes told by the old man. I don't intend to use the past to satirize you. You don't have to argue, Cheng Wen. How old are you this year? You were just born when the old man was cut off by Yan Song. What I said was a true story, but again, I didn’t say it to ridicule you. I just wanted to use this to illustrate that you can use the seal for the emperor in the matter. The power to refute supervision is in a position that attracts the attention of all. When you encounter people who are corrupt, corrupt and pervert the law, you must have the courage to take the case and offend Yan Zhijian. This is not only a responsibility, but also a morality. Otherwise, the world will laugh at you .” Luo Zun was quick-witted, and had guessed Gao Gong's thoughts seven or eight points so far, so he asked, "Yuanfu, is today's meeting discussing the impeachment of Feng Bao?" "Exactly," Gao Gong replied bluntly, "I'm here today for the purpose of meeting with you. On the day the emperor ascended the throne, Luo Zun came to tell me that Feng Bao could not come down from the side of the throne. The emperor still respects him. You officials are all furious and ready to impeach him. Considering the confusing situation at that time, I will wait and see for a few days. Now it seems that the new emperor and the emperor’s biological mother, Li Guifei, are still Putting state affairs first, taking the overall situation into consideration, and not blindly favoring Feng Bao. "Chen Wushishu" is a clear proof of the decree according to the cabinet ticket. This morning, both the Ministry of Criminal Justice and the Ministry of Rites also returned the proposed cabinet ticket. The situation is turning for the better. On that day, the old man arranged for Jiang Jiakuan’s booklet from Nanjing Institute of Technology to go first, and threw a stone to find a way. The booklet was sent to the palace yesterday. "The charter set by ", always has to be drafted. Han Yi, I asked you to investigate the two things about Feng Bao, have you verified it?" Han Yi responded, "I've assigned it to Cheng Wen." Gao Gong shifted his gaze to Cheng Wen again, and Cheng Wen shook his head. Gao Gong frowned with a big pimple in his heart.The two things he asked, the first thing is that when Feng Bao was building a private house, all the materials were taken from the Imperial Palace Treasury.Zhai Tingyu, the eunuch in charge of the library, thought that Feng Bao was stealing public property, and said a few unpleasant words. When Feng Bao found out, he sent several Dongchang school captains to arrest Zhai Tingyu and imprison him, and falsely accused Zhai Tingyu of being in the imperial treasury. He committed adultery and self-stealing, and was severely tortured.Zhai Tingyu couldn't bear the torture and committed suicide in prison.The second thing is that Feng Bao secretly purchased some "sexual devices" and "aphrodisiacs" outside and presented them to Emperor Longqing.As a result, Emperor Longqing became ill from long-term study and died young.It was an open secret inside and outside the court that Emperor Daxing was fond of "sexual objects" and took "aphrodisiacs" before his death.It's just that the people who offered the "obscene tools" and "aphrodisiacs" were said to be Meng Chong, while others were said to be Feng Bao.Gao Gong instructed Cheng Wen to go to Meng Chong to investigate, and his intention was obvious, just to find out Meng Chong's confession.Because these two things can make Feng Baowen a capital crime.Especially the latter one has a precedent in the court: in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, the eunuch Zhang Yu served Emperor Xiaozong to take medicine, but by mistake he took the wrong medicine box and gave the "aphrodisiac" to the emperor.As a result, when Emperor Xiao met his foreign ministers, he was full of love.At that time, Duke Hou Kedao and other officials found out about this matter, so they discussed the impeachment according to the original plan, and they insisted on arresting Zhang Yu and beheading him.Zhang Yu didn't lose his life when he offered the "aphrodisiac" on purpose, if Feng Bao offered it on purpose, there would be no reason to live.All the old eunuchs in the palace knew this story.Gao Gong asked the staff to collect these rumors, and then verified them one by one.After all, he was very experienced and knew that for a person with a deep foundation like Feng Bao, he would either not be impeached. Gao Gong gave Han Yi a dissatisfied look, and asked, "Have you checked with Meng Chong about the aphrodisiac offer?" Han Yi replied with a bitter face: "I've been to Meng Chong's house, but he didn't see him behind closed doors." Luo Zun hurriedly added: "I heard that Feng Bao sent ten small fire fighters to Meng Chong's residence. They said they were servants, but they actually took Meng Chong under custody." "Is there such a thing?" Gao Gong was a little surprised, and then his face sank, and he said, "Feng Bao's doing this is a sign of a guilty conscience, and it also shows that he has not yet gained a firm foothold in the palace. Time also." "Yuanfu is right, let's write the notes now." Lu Shude, who had been silent for a long time, yelled enthusiastically at this moment, and everyone discussed the matter excitedly.At this moment, Ma Congyun ran into the court room again and whispered to Gao Gong, "Yuanfu, Master Zhu, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, wants to see you." "What about others?" Gao Gong asked. "It's already sitting in your room." Gao Gong thought to himself that it would be impossible to see this visitor, so he said to the officials: "You guys discuss it first, I will come when I go." After saying that, he went downstairs. Gao Gong returned to the duty room, but saw that Zhu Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, had already sat down in the small living room.This Zhu Heng was a Jinshi in the 11th year of Jiajing, and he had been a minister for many years. He was the elder of the three dynasties, and he was six years older than Gao Gong.So Gao Gong didn't dare to be sloppy with him, and when they met each other, they gave equal official courtesy to each other.Gao Gong insisted on giving up the front seat in the living room to Zhu Heng. After sitting down and watching tea, Gao Gong noticed that Zhu Heng's face was not looking well, so he asked cautiously: "Brother Shinan, you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing, may I ask why you are here today?" What happened?" "Brother Suqing," Zhu Heng said, addressing Gao Gong with words, "I sent people to the Ministry of Households to allocate funds for the Chaobai River project today, but the Ministry of Households insisted on refusing to do so. When I asked them why, they all faltered and said nothing. It’s unreasonable to ask you!” As Zhu Heng said, he stomped his feet in anger, and another layer of beads of sweat oozed from his forehead that had just wiped off the sweat stains.Looking at the anger on his face, Gao Gong smiled dryly, not knowing how to answer for a moment. To find out the reason for Zhu Heng's anger, we must first introduce the cause of the Chaobai River project.In addition, most of the food supply for hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the capital city and Jizhen was transported from Jiangsu and Zhejiang by a canal running from north to south.After the grain was transported to the Tongzhou warehouse, it was then transported by land to the capital and Jizhen, which not only consumed a lot of manpower, but also often could not be delivered in time, resulting in mildew and rot in the grain stored in the Tongzhou warehouse.In response to this situation, Zhu Heng, a water conservancy expert who has devoted his life to water transportation and river control, gave a lecture to Emperor Longqing at the beginning of the year.The Qianchao River and the Baier River diverge, and they will meet at Niulan Mountain. Water transport ships from Tongzhou can only reach Niulan Mountain, and then transport them by land to Longqingcang. The journey is very painful.Now the Baihe River flows through the west of the city, only one or two miles away from the Chaohe River.If the two rivers can be opened up, dredged and dammed, they will be combined into a first-class, and the water flow will become deeper to facilitate water transportation.In the past, the amount of grain transported in Changping was as much as 180,000 shi, but now it is only 140,000 shi, and Miyun only gets 100,000 shi.It all depends on investment promotion and transportation, which costs a lot of money every year, which is very inconvenient.I heard that most of the stored grain in Tongzhou turned red and rotted due to insufficient transshipment. If Chaobai Ershui is opened up, 50,000 shi will be transported to Miyun every month to supply Changling and other Eight Guards officers and soldiers. If it is given to the Beijing army, there will be no rot in the Tongzhou warehouse, the Beijing army will benefit from it, and Miyun will be free from merchants. Three benefits can be obtained in one fell swoop.This chapter was transferred from the inner palace to the cabinet to draw up bills.Gao Gong actively agreed with Zhu Heng's suggestion, so he persuaded Emperor Longqing to agree to implement the project of dredging the Changping River Transport, and let Zhu Heng take charge of it.After Zhu Heng received the decree, he carefully made a project budget, which required about 600,000 taels of silver, and the construction period was about seven months. Emperor Longqing approved the decree.Now, the construction period has reached the fifth month, and it is in full swing.According to the plan, the first phase of the project was 400,000 taels of silver, and all of it should have been in place last month.The Ministry of Accounting said that it was difficult, and delayed again and again, only gave 200,000 taels of silver, and stated that the remaining 200,000 taels of silver would be paid before the 15th of this month. Today is the deadline. Zhu Heng sent someone to the Ministry of Accounts to transfer But the money came back after touching his nose, so he was very annoyed.How did he know that this money was directly withheld by Zhang Benzhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, under the instruction of Gao Gong, in order to flatter Concubine Li Gui, and use it to make head jewelry for the concubines in the harem.Since this matter was not easy to put on the table, Zhang Benzhi, who had always been unwilling to take responsibility, played a trick and asked Zhu Heng to come straight to Gao Gong. "Brother Suqing, give this old man an explanation today, whether to pay for the project or not?" Zhu Heng was so angry that he didn't care about official etiquette, and his tone of voice was extremely choking.Gao Gong knew in his heart that if he explained the truth at this time, it would be a wonder if Zhu Heng didn't turn the cabinet upside down.If it was delayed for a day or two, waiting for the emperor to approve the papers from the Ministry of Rites, then it would be reasonable to do the persuasion work, so he decided to come up with a plan to delay the attack and stabilize Zhu Heng first.After pondering for a while, Gao Gong replied: "Who will say no to the project money? This is a matter agreed by the late emperor's imperial court. Who dares not to do it?" Zhu Heng stiffened his neck, and said angrily: "Zhang Benzhi refused to follow through. If he doesn't give out the money, the migrant workers will make trouble and the project will be delayed endlessly. Who will bear the responsibility?" "Brother Shi Nan, don't be so excited," Gao Gong said calmly, "Zhang Benzhi may have some difficulties, and it is inconvenient to explain to you, so I send you to me. You go back now, and I will go to the household later." Ministry, make sure this matter is resolved satisfactorily.” Zhu Heng heard the meaning of seeing off the guests in Shoufu's words, and knew that sitting here could not solve the problem, so he raised his official robe, stood up and bid farewell to Gao Gong, walked to the door, and dropped another hard sentence: "I won't be able to get the project money tomorrow, so the old man has no choice but to go to the emperor to ask for justice." This sentence implied a threat, and Gao Gong didn't like it.But because there are more important things to do, this matter can only be endured for the time being.After seeing Zhu Heng off, Gao Gong went back upstairs to the court room and asked everyone what to do: "How are things going?" "The big plan has been decided." Han Yi reported to Gao Gong on behalf of everyone, "Feng Bao stole the materials from the inner treasury to build a private house, and the engineering department gave Cheng Wenshang the impeachment of the matter, and the emperor ascended the throne and Feng Bao usurped the imperial side. , because it involves etiquette, the Li Ke should give Lu Shude a copy of the performance. These two copies will be sent to Huangjimen early tomorrow morning. In order to prevent Feng Bao from leaving the notes in the middle, we have specially prepared the original and the second copy. Two copies. The original is sent to the palace, and the copy is sent to the cabinet." Gao Gong nodded slightly, the officials knew that this was an agreement, but everyone expected him to say a few words of weight, Gao Gong insisted on not saying anything, and these disciples began to guess what the seat master was thinking.Luo Zun thought that the two memorials agreed just now were not enough to attract the attention of the emperor and his two mothers.Therefore, Feng Bao cannot be brought down, which may be what the chief assistant is worried about.He thought for a while and said: "The two documents that everyone discussed just now are very good. But if you want to expel Feng Bao from the Rites Supervisor in one fell swoop, in my opinion, there are more important materials that can be used." "Ah?" Gao Gong glanced over and asked, "Is there any other materials, Luo will follow you." Luo Zun went on to say: "The late emperor's edict, which requires the three ministers of the cabinet and the supervisor of ceremonies to assist the young master, has aroused great repercussions among officials since it was published in the residence newspaper. Everyone thinks that this There are many doubts about the will." "What doubts?" Gao Gong asked. "First, the students heard that Emperor Longqing was already in a coma when you, Gaoyi and Zhang Juzheng, the two cabinet ministers arrived at the Qianqing Palace. For more than two hundred years, there has never been a precedent for eunuchs and cabinet ministers to be ordered together. At the beginning of the founding of the country, Emperor Hongwu stipulated that eunuchs should not interfere in politics, and even ordered eunuchs to be tortured by skinning. Therefore, this will violates the ancestor thirdly, let the Minister of Rites and the three cabinet ministers work together to assist, but at that time the supervisor of ceremonies was in charge of Meng Chong, not Feng Bao. Meng Chong. There are so many doubts that make everyone suspicious." "In your opinion, this will is false?" "Officials are talking privately that this will may be a coercion." "Correction?" Gao Gong asked tightly. "Yes, a corrective edict!" Luo Zun replied affirmatively, "If the impeachment of this corrective edict can be made, the world's scholars will definitely respond. Once it is implemented, it will not be a problem for him, Feng Bao, to leave the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Anyone who commits this crime of coercion must be punished with great punishment." "Luo Zun is right, let's make another comment and impeach him for the crime of coercion!" "As the saying goes, you need to hit seven inches to hit a snake. This is equivalent to hitting Feng Bao's seven inches." All the officials echoed and agreed with Luo Zun's proposition, but Gao Gong remained silent.In fact, Luo Zun has always been suspicious of the matter Luo Zun mentioned.As the main party involved, he heard Feng Bao read the will before Emperor Longqing's sickbed.I didn't think about it because I was sad.Recalling all the details at that time afterwards, it was indeed as Luo Zun said that there were many loopholes.但如果据此说是“矫诏”，那么，这“矫诏”也绝非冯保一个人的能力做得下来的。至少，新皇上的两位母亲参与了此事。如果这时候用“矫诏”之罪去弹劾冯保，岂不是引火烧身？蛇没打着，反倒被蛇咬死，这种事决计不能做。虑着这一层，高拱说道： “官员们的私下议论，老夫也早有耳闻，但矫诏一事，虽有可疑，尚无实据。这次弹劾，就不必在矫诏一事上做文章了。” “首辅所言极是，”韩揖瞟了雒遵一眼，打圆场说道，“雒遵的提议不失为一个好主意，但擒贼擒王，还得按首辅的方略行事。” 韩揖既安抚了雒遵，又搔着了高拱的痒处，高拱兴奋地一捋长须，说道：“只要各位同仇敌忾，上下一心，不愁大奸不除。清君侧，可建千古不朽之功。” 会揖在一片昂扬的气氛中结束，给事中都各自回衙起草奏本去了。