Chapter 28 Zhang Juzheng 2－Shuilongyin's first mansion report contains a series of lies

The Yuntai behind the Jianji Hall is a small hall with three couplets, which is only separated from the Qianqing Palace by the Qianqing Gate.If there is any important matter on weekdays, the emperor will meet the ministers here. It was just after the hour of the day, and I saw three people sitting in the cloud platform. On the throne was the little emperor Zhu Yijun, and Zhang Juzheng and Feng Baoda sat on both sides.With a thin voice, Feng Baojian read an article from the residence newspaper: The prefect of Suzhou Prefecture reported: Suzhou Prefecture governs the southwestern shore of Taihu Lake, and there are mountains that migrate from it.At the beginning, it moved slowly, and gradually became very anxious, looking towards Taihu Lake.Occasionally, a villager passed by and exclaimed in shock: "This mountain is going to go down to the lake!"The mountain stopped as soon as it was called, and it was hundreds of feet away from the old site. As soon as Feng Bao finished chanting, Zhu Yijun was amused. "Feng Baoqian smiled, and glanced at Zhang Juzheng, but seeing that the chief assistant was concentrating, expressionless like a wooden man, Feng Bao swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and read the second paragraph:

Letter from Fuyuan, Jiangxi: A stone was born in the courtyard of the Highness of the Town God's Temple in Nanchang Prefecture. It was four or five inches from the ground at first, and it grew to more than a foot each day, and it grew longer every day.It has been three or four feet for a few days.When it was first born, no one thought it was a stone. Occasionally someone saw it and said, "I want to give birth to a mountain here." Therefore, the words did not continue to grow, and there are still some survivors. This time the little emperor had doubts, he blinked his eyes, both as if he was asking and talking to himself:

"Stones are not grass, how can they grow?" Feng Bao was noncommittal, and then read the third paragraph: Wu Ke, the governor of Taiyuan Prefecture, Shanxi Province, wrote a poem: Check Li Liangyun's brother Liangyu, a villager in Longquan, Jingle County, Taiyuan Prefecture, suddenly turned into a woman. She married Bai Shangxiang, a villager.During the first month of the sixth year of Longqing, Liangyu occasionally suffered from small intestinal pain, which stopped and turned her hair. On the ninth day of February, she was bedridden.There is a villager, Bai Shangxiang, who also has no wife. When Yu Yu was sick, he lived together in the morning and evening.Within four months, Liangyu's kidney sac retracted unconsciously and turned into Yin, and she married Bai Yan.The meridians flow on the first day of May, stop on the third day, and feel bad every month thereafter.Liang Yufang changed into a bun girl's clothes and bound her feet with easy shoes, shy and shy to avoid letting others know.On June 15th, the villagers learned that Juyu from the county reported to the county, and the same went for an inspection. Wen's wife, Fang, took her to the stable for inspection. She was deformed, no different from a woman.The villagers commented that it is a sign of the prosperity of yin and the decline of yang, saying that a man turns into a woman, so as to pray for saving.

As he read it, Feng Bao felt uncomfortable. He didn't understand why Zhang Juzheng got these messy mansions to blaspheme. When he finished reading the last word, he put the mansions on the coffee table in front of him. With a heavy shake, he picked up the teacup to drink tea, and kept looking at the curtain behind him.Although Zhu Yijun is young, his heart is clear.Although the anecdotes and anecdotes in these three briefings sound interesting, judging from Feng Bao's expression, they seem to have violated a taboo.The child's natural curiosity was suppressed, and the little emperor was at a loss for what to do. He sat on the imperial couch and rubbed his hands uneasily. Zhang Juzheng has been paying attention to the subtle changes in the expressions of the little emperor and Feng Bao.After being cold for a while, Zhang Juzheng asked:

"Just now Eunuch Feng read the briefing. May I ask what your Majesty's opinion is?" Afraid of making a mistake, Zhu Yijun pointed to Feng Bao and said, "Speak, dear companion." "Absurd." Feng Bao sneered angrily, and four words popped out of his mouth coldly. "Yes, my big companion is right, it's absurd!" After Feng Bao asked such a question, Zhu Yijun knew how to answer. He wrung his little finger and said, "Walk on a mountain, grow tall on a stone, how can a man change into a woman?" So many strange things come out? "Good question, Your Majesty!" Zhang Juzheng, who has always been stern and introverted, frowned at this moment, and said in a serious tone, "In such a big China, some absurd and weird things happen or spread every day. Strange, but what is strange is that such absurd and outlandish things are published in the residence newspaper of the Secretary of General Administration in an open manner!" Zhang Juzheng highlighted this statement, and the little emperor was stunned. Day and night flow like time, and Zhang Juzheng has been appointed as the chief assistant for more than a month without knowing it.As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning, and it is even more difficult for Zhang Juzheng to take over the chief assistant.The treasury is empty, the financial resources are exhausted, and the ministers and officials are corrupt.Sitting in the cabinet's duty room every day, no matter whether it is reading memorials and newspapers or talking with officials who have met, nothing goes well.But he was still vigorous and resolute, and accomplished two major events in a short period of time: one was to give Empress Chen and Concubine Li the honorary title of empress dowager; the other was to remove all incompetent ministers.The former is to stabilize the royal family and please the little emperor and his biological mother Li Guifei, while the latter is the real big deal.After Emperor Yongle established the capital in Beijing, the imperial officials were divided according to their positions and powers. There were nine major yamen and nine small yamen.The nine major yamen are the Six Departments of Officials, Rites, Soldiers, and Criminal Workers plus the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the General Secretary and Dali Temple; the nine small yamen are Zhanshifu, Taichang Temple, Taipu Temple, Guanglu Temple, Honglu Temple, and Imperial Academy in sequence. , Guozijian, Shangbaosi and Yuanma Temple.The handprinter of the nine yamen is customarily called Da Jiuqing.The supervisor of the Nine Small Yamen, commonly known as Xiao Jiuqing.These eighteen yamen formed a complete central government management organization.The so-called chief minister of the cabinet, since the time of Xiaozong, has actually represented the emperor and exercised the power to manage the country through these eighteen yamen.The first thing for any Chief Assistant to do when he takes office is to rectify the eighteen yamen and find candidates for hall officials, and Zhang Juzheng is no exception.However, what makes him different from other chief ministers is that he is not satisfied with replacing all the officials in these yamen with his cronies, but hopes that these yamen can truly fulfill their responsibilities and take on the important task of managing the country.Therefore, at the beginning of his tenure, he stated that he "does not decide who to choose based on his own likes and dislikes, but recommends candidates for the ministry based on his talents." Although he said so, few people believed that he would really do so.Zhang Juzheng has been in the cabinet for a long time, and he has long been aware of all kinds of dirty mentality in the officialdom.Over the years, there have been four jingles circulated in the official circles of the capital: "The big Jiuqing has the big Jiujiu, the small Jiuqing has the small Jiujiu, the eighteen yamen open to the south, and the hall officials follow the chief assistant." Just twenty-eight characters can be described as wonderfully authentic. There is a chronic illness in officialdom.When Zhang Juzheng entered the cabinet in the first year of Longqing, he secretly made up his mind that one day if Tiansuiren was willing to ascend to the position of chief assistant, he must eradicate this long-standing evil.All the ministers are loyal to the emperor and obey the government. It is understandable that the ministers are responsible for their duties, but what cannot be tolerated is that the ministers have their own small calculations.If things go on like this, not only the majesty of the emperor is just empty words, but also the prosperity of the country that the people of the world are looking forward to is just a dream... Zhang Juzheng has thought about the above thoughts for countless times.He wanted to have an audience with the emperor time and time again, and told the emperor one by one about the shortcomings of the imperial court and the officialdom.But when he took the pen to write the post, he hesitated and paused: After all, the emperor is a ten-year-old child, how can he understand these profound truths?Instead of hastily meeting and saying a lot of obscure words, making the emperor confused and incomprehensible, it is better to patiently wait for some kind of opportunity to appear.Yesterday afternoon, Zhang Juzheng was looking through the residence newspaper sent by the Secretary of General Administration, and got inspiration by chance. He felt that he could communicate with the little emperor, so he sent a letter of invitation and set up today's meeting. At this moment, the Yuntai was silent.Facing the meticulous Zhang Juzheng, the little emperor has dual feelings of dependence and awe.After being silent for a long time, he mustered up the courage to ask again: "What should be published in the residence newspaper of the Secretary of General Administration?"

Zhang Juzheng stroked his long beard, turned to Feng Bao and said, "Eunuch Feng, please answer your Majesty's question." Feng Bao didn't know the real purpose of Zhang Juzheng's report to the mansion, he was worried that listening too much to such weird and unrefined things would encourage children's desire to play, so his face was full of displeasure.But after hearing Zhang Juzheng's words just now, he felt that the new Chief Assistant did not intentionally "mislead" the emperor, but had something else to say, so he let go of his heart.In addition, Zhang Juzheng was always respectful to him, and the annoyance of reading the mansion's time report was relieved, so he cleared his throat with a slight cough and replied: "Long live, my servant has stayed in the prison for fifteen years." This year, during this period, the residence newspaper of the Secretary of General Administration, can be said to have been read in a single issue. The contents of the residence newspaper should be a summary of the duties of officials from all over the country. There are also governors of the Nine Frontiers, river officials, Cao officials, and salt officials. What do they do every day? Are they rewarding, punishing, judging, guarding, and fulfilling the responsibility of guarding the herdsmen? Mansion newspaper, you can roughly know the situation of government officials in the world. The two mansion newspapers that Mr. Zhang brought, I read them yesterday. When I saw these messy things, I felt as if I had eaten a fly. He was about to die, so he didn't show it to the emperor. We don't know why Mr. Zhang singled out these three strange words to read to the emperor." As soon as Feng Bao's words fell, Zhang Juzheng immediately took over the conversation and said, "Eunuch Feng has reported to the mansion The role is explained thoroughly. The minister specially circled these three items for the emperor to read today, just to arouse the emperor's vigilance. What are the officials in the frontier and the ministers of the treasury doing now? The treasury is empty and banditry It goes on and on, officials are greedy for ink, rivers and waterways are in disrepair, and there are so many important matters related to the fate of the court, the national economy and the people's livelihood, no one is serious about it, and instead report these heresies layer by layer, wouldn't it be extremely boring!" Zhang Juzheng's words were sharp.Zhu Yijun's body trembled, but he didn't know what to do.While the corner of his mouth was twitching and he was looking at Feng Bao eagerly, he suddenly heard a woman's voice from the curtain behind Feng Bao: "Well said!"

Zhang Juzheng was startled, looking for his reputation, he saw that the heavy scarlet curtain behind Feng Bao was pulled back by two servants, and Empress Dowager Li walked out slowly from inside.  But she said yesterday that the little servant sent Zhang Juzheng's request for an interview, and the Empress Dowager Li immediately decided to let the little emperor approve the interview. Zhang Juzheng is the shrewdest person in the world, so it’s no wonder he doesn’t have stage fright.” When the mother and son were at their wit’s end, Feng Bao suddenly had an idea and said, “Report to the Empress Dowager, does my slave have an idea?” “Speak.”

"Tomorrow, the emperor will receive an interview with Yuntai, and you, the queen mother, will also attend." "Me?" Empress Dowager Li was taken aback, "How can I participate? This does not make people in the world suspect of meddling in politics, let alone men and women are different." In this way, by observing Mr. Zhang closely, the Empress Dowager can tell right from wrong." Empress Dowager Li bit her lip and thought for a while, then nodded and said, "It seems that this is the only way to go." Now, when Empress Dowager Li turned out from behind the curtain At that time, Zhang Juzheng's first reaction was to quickly kneel down and salute.Empress Dowager Li ordered Feng Bao to move the chair and arrange to sit in front of the imperial couch. "Queen Mother, please sit here." Zhu Yijun stood up to give up his seat to Queen Mother Li.Empress Dowager Li looked at her son and said, "You are the throne of the emperor. Who would have the guts to sit on it?" The words seemed casual, but the meaning was deep. After sitting down again after the ceremony of meeting the monarch and his ministers, Queen Mother Li asked with a smile: "Mr. Zhang, we suddenly appeared, didn't I startle you?" A beautiful young woman with bright eyes, white teeth and elegant demeanor. In addition, she didn't plan to meet foreign ministers today, so she didn't wear the court uniform. She only wore a six-panel western cloth skirt that was "thin as cicada gauze, and more beautiful than snow". It shines like a hibiscus out of water. Although Zhang Juzheng was able to see no indecent behavior, he could not help but be moved by occasional glimpses of Empress Dowager Li's graceful demeanor. After saluting, he concealed his gaffe by arranging his official robes, forced himself to restrain himself, and replied: "The sudden appearance of Empress Dowager Li really surprised the subjects."

Empress Dowager Li no longer babbled on this issue, but directly cut to the point: "We have heard the conversation between you and your ministers just now." Then she turned her head and glanced at the curtain behind, and continued, "To tell the truth I shouldn't be meddling in important national affairs. Now we often miss the time when Emperor Longqing was in power. We devoted all our attention to our two children, copying Buddhist scriptures and listening to music in our free time. How relaxed we were. Yeah. At that time, Emperor Longqing used a Gao Gong to manage the affairs of the world in an orderly manner. This Gao Gong was a capable minister, but his character was not good. He was obedient in front of Emperor Longqing, so he was deeply trusted. Jun'er ascended the throne After becoming Emperor Wanli, we saw that Gao Gong's intentions were not right from some small things. Out of helplessness, we and the Empress Dowager Rensheng decided to get rid of this thorny head and gave you the seat of chief assistant to you, Mr. Zhang. We In doing so, I place high hopes on Mr. Zhang, and hope that you will live up to the late emperor's entrustment, be a good minister of life, assist the young master, keep and manage the foundations passed down by the late emperor, and let the people of the world feel that Wanli is a good emperor."  Speaking of this, Empress Dowager Li looked at Zhu Yijun who was sitting on the imperial couch full of love and affection.Before Empress Dowager Li appeared, Zhu Yijun was sitting in a tight seat and pretending to be a young adult. Since Empress Dowager Li walked out of the curtain, Zhu Yijun's nervousness suddenly relaxed, and the innocence of a child reappeared in his eyes.  Zhang Juzheng listened to Queen Mother Li's speech calmly, "eating" almost every word into his brain.In the past, he only knew that Empress Dowager Li was a dignified, virtuous, pious, respectful and strict woman, but what he said just now surprised him secretly. Such a deep city and outstanding independence.He suddenly realized that the three people sitting in the cloud platform today were actually his masters.Especially this Empress Dowager Li is the master of his masters!If I want to develop my ambitions and realize the ideal of a rich country and a strong army, I must first serve these three people well.Thinking of this level, Zhang Juzheng said humbly:

"Thank you Empress Dowager for your trust in me. I will live up to the high expectations of the empress dowagers of the two palaces. I will definitely assist the young master to open up a peaceful and prosperous world in Wanli Dynasty." "Okay, what we want is your attitude." After that, Empress Dowager Li said, Turning to Feng Bao again, "Eunuch Feng, read the third paragraph in the report just now." "Third paragraph?" "Yes, it's the part where the man turns into a woman." "Yes, the slave obeys the order."  Feng Bao picked up the residence newspaper on the coffee table again, and read the statement from Wu Ke, the governor of Shanxi Taiyuan Mansion.As soon as Feng Bao's voice stopped, Empress Dowager Li asked Zhang Juzheng: "Mr. Zhang, what is the purpose of Wu Ke's statement?"

"I believe that Wu Ke's move is a follow-up to the decadence of officialdom." Zhang Juzheng's answer was vague, and there was a reason for this.Empress Dowager Li hid behind the curtain. Although she dared not say that she was "interfering with politics", at least she showed that she did not fully trust him as the Chief Assistant.Based on this, he had to be very cautious in his answer. Empress Dowager Li was obviously dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng's answer. She raised her eyebrows and said, "Is it just a follow-on? The last sentence in Wu Ke's statement, nonsense that male to female is a sign of the prosperity of yin and the decline of yang, how to explain it? "At this point, Feng Bao, who had been wondering all the time, understood why the Empress Dowager Li suddenly walked out of the curtain. It turned out that it was Wu Ke's statement that made her "angry". Chen Shi was just bored and didn't think about it deeply. After the empress dowager clarified it, the slave finally understood Wu Ke's sinister intentions. He was secretly drawing a bow and shooting cold arrows to hurt the empress dowager." "How did he hurt?" Zhu Yijun asked with wide eyes.  "Wu Ke said that a man changing into a woman is a sign of the prosperity of yin and the decline of yang. The decline of yang means that your Long Live Lord is still a child. The abundance of yin refers to the empress dowager. The implication is that the queen mother is interfering in politics." According to Feng Bao As soon as he teased him, Zhu Yijun's face flushed red, and he shouted angrily, "Nonsense!" Empress Dowager Li signaled Zhu Yijun to calm down, then looked at Zhang Juzheng with a livid face, and asked, "Mr. Zhang, how did Wu Ke become the governor and censor?" What Empress Dowager Li meant was to ask Wu Ke where people on the line.Zhang Juzheng was so clear-headed how could he not understand, but he pretended to be sloppy and replied: "The empress dowager, all officials' ranks are reported by the Ministry of Officials to the emperor for approval." "You're talking about the form, I'm asking..." Speaking of this, Empress Dowager Li stopped abruptly, she was afraid that the question would be too explicit and would leave a bad impression on Zhang Juzheng.Feng Bao heard it in his ears and knew it in his heart. He immediately took it and replied: "The slave obeyed the Queen Mother's order yesterday. After going back, he found out that this Wu is a student of Gao Gong. He was a Jinshi in the 42nd year of Jiajing. Gao Gong, a sixth-rank head of the Wenxuan Department of the Ministry of Officials, thought he was capable, and promoted him to a fourth-rank censor." "Ah! So, behind this incident, there is a huge conspiracy hidden." Empress Dowager Li got up and walked to the row of huge open-carved window lattices in the east chamber, stretching out her jade fingers to gently touch the soft and greasy window curtain.After a long time, she slowly walked back and sat down again, and continued: "I remember that not long after Emperor Longqing's visit, Jun'er had just ascended the throne, and the Ziyunxuan Study in the capital rushed to print a thousand copies of "The Precepts for Women". It was sold out, and the buyers were all officials in the capital. I heard that the officials in the Sixth Section Corridor had a copy. The meaning is self-evident. The evil wind of the stock can be stopped, but now Wu Ke jumped out, saying that a man changing into a woman is a sign of the decline of yang and the prosperity of yin, and everyone needs to correct it. Such a mess is published in the residence of the General Secretary Report." Speaking of this, Empress Dowager Li became emotional, with tears in her eyes. "Mother's queen!" Zhu Yijun yelled shyly, not knowing how to control the situation in front of him.Feng Bao took the opportunity to fan the flames and said angrily: "Although the tall bearded man left, his ghost still persists. It seems that this evil wind can't be stopped without the use of thunder." "Mr. Zhang, what do you think Wu Ke should do?" Queen Mother Li asked.The atmosphere inside the Yuntai was already very tense.Zhang Juzheng knew from the bottom of his heart that if his answer was a little careless, disaster would be sown.After thinking for a while, he replied: "The minister thinks that it is enough for the emperor to issue a strict reprimand." "Is this too light?" Although the tone of Queen Mother Li's question was very light, it made people feel threatened.Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly, and asked abruptly: "According to the Empress Dowager's opinion, how should we deal with it?" The corners of Empress Dowager Li's mouth curled up, and she immediately showed a venomous look, and said jokingly: "Mr. Zhang's question is tantamount to instigating We are involved in politics. As far as our personal likes and dislikes are concerned, this Wu Ke, it is still light for us to dismiss him as a civilian. But how can I let a woman like me decide whether to be promoted or resigned by the imperial court? You are now a dignified The chief assistant, who can’t come up with a single person’s opinion, is there any talk of reforming the bureaucracy, enriching the country and strengthening the army?”  Empress Dowager Li was eloquent, and “stabbed” Zhang Juzheng fiercely.Zhang Juzheng was not in a hurry, and replied with a pause: "It's not that I don't have any opinions, but I'm worried that my opinions are at odds with the Queen Mother's." "So what's the problem? Should have listened to you." "The queen mother is so trusting, I am very grateful." Zhang Juzheng bowed his body and replied neither humble nor overbearing.He felt that the time was ripe and it was time to come up with his own ideas.So he stroked his long beard, opened his arms and made a long statement: "When the Queen Mother was in the curtain, she probably heard the minister reminding the emperor that he should be seated during the regular court. What are the officials doing? The three articles in the mansion newspaper read by Eunuch Feng just now are very illustrative. I have been in the officialdom for more than 20 years, and I have lived through three dynasties. Difficult to sleep. During the Jiajing period, the Shimiao believed in fasting and sacrificial offerings, and all government affairs were handled by Yan Song. The father and son of the Yan family talked bluntly, seeking private affairs, seeking favor from the top and slandering the thieves below. Holding the country for more than 20 years, resulting in The imperial court guidelines are often not promoted, and government orders are not good enough. The atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty created by Hongwu and Yongle, and the scholarly ethos of honesty and integrity, were almost lost during the Jiajing Dynasty. Yan Song did what he liked, and made up many auspicious and mutated events to report to Da Nei every day. Officials from all over the country responded one after another, such as pigs turning into unicorns and chickens into phoenixes, and nine green dragons spit out from the mouth of carp in the Yellow River, etc., all of which became post road news. Presenting talismans to compete for favor, expressing congratulations to Sailu Xingchi. When Shimiao is happy, he will promote these officials who spread rumors to confuse the saints. If things go on like this, the door of good fortune will be opened. Loyal people will be exiled every time they see them; People in the capital often get cheap. As a result, the floods in the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers were neglected, and the accumulated taxes and taxes were not recovered. The corpses of officials in the two capitals were vegetarian, and extravagance was a priority; local officials exploited small people and searched for money. A small official named Hai Rui, who was in charge of the household department, hated this kind of bad government, so he prepared a coffin and directly criticized the Shimiao. This made Shimiao furious and sent Hai Rui to death row. Five years later, Shimiao died.Emperor Longqing entered the Datong.The world is excited and the people support it.At the beginning of Emperor Longqing's succession, he also wanted to turn the tide, refresh the government, and restore the Gangchang teachings created by Emperor Hongwu himself.However, the accumulated evils were too deep, and people's hearts were corrupted. Even though Emperor Longqing was heroic, it was difficult for him to complete his merits in one battle.In addition, during the six years of Emperor Longqing's reign, the cabinet had changed four chief assistants like a revolving door. People were restless and overwhelmed, and they were intriguing for the position of Baolu. How could they have the thought to rectify the shortcomings of government inspections?What's more, it's a pity that there is no holiday, and Emperor Longqing died young, which made Jiajing's downturn continue until now. "Because of this, there are such weird articles in the residence newspaper of the Secretary of General Administration. This is the legacy of Jiajing. The reason why Wu Ke, the governor of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, reported the absurd story of male-to-female change is precisely because of this. Premise. Regarding Wu Ke’s case, needless to say, accusing Sang Huai of attacking the Empress Dowager is just creating anecdotes to confuse the public. We have all kinds of reasons to punish him severely. But the crux of the problem is that Wu Ke’s case is by no means an isolated case, but a common practice in official circles. Phenomenon. If we don’t rectify the root cause and put the chaos in order, if one Wu Ke is punished today, tomorrow there will be ten or eight foolish officials named Zhang Ke and Wang Ke who will continue to follow the old path, presenting all kinds of messy memorials to confuse the saints!” When Zhang Juzheng said this, his mouth felt dry, so he stopped and took a few sips of tea.What he said was originally thought up yesterday, so when he said it in detail, it had a deafening effect, and the three people present were deeply shocked by his words.Especially Empress Dowager Li, when Zhang Juzheng was speaking, she stared at the slender and well-defined Zhongjidian University scholar without blinking her eyes.Since she entered Prince Yu's Mansion, due to strict palace restrictions, she had never sat so close to a man except Emperor Longqing.When Emperor Longqing was critically ill, although she met Zhang Juzheng through the curtain, she didn't take a closer look because of her grief.Only now did she realize that Zhang Juzheng's voice was full of charm and his temperament was so alluring.She couldn't help thinking about it, but with "evil thoughts", she suddenly felt ashamed, pretended to wipe off her sweat, and took out a handkerchief to wipe her blushing cheeks. Zhang Juzheng did not notice the subtle changes in Empress Dowager Li, he was still immersed in passionate and generous emotions, and said to himself: "Empress Dowager, what I just said is the words from the bottom of my heart after many years of thinking, and I hope the Empress Dowager can correct me if it is inappropriate." "Very well said," Empress Dowager Li changed her sternness, and her voice became sweet and greasy. "Mr. Zhang has been in the government for many years, so he can point out the government's bad governance. Needless to say, just say it, the next step How do you want to refresh the decadent trend of bureaucratic rectification?" "I suggest that the emperor immediately issue an edict to implement Beijing inspection!" "Jingcha?" "Yes, Jingcha," Zhang Juzheng's cold eyes flashed, and he explained slowly, "The so-called Jingcha refers to the assessment of officials in the two capitals of Tianshuntian and Tianshuntian. Officials above the fourth rank will all report to the emperor. The gains and losses are reported by the emperor. Deciding whether to go up or down, officials below the fourth rank will be jointly inspected by the Ministry of Officials, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and those who are qualified will be retained, and those who are not will be eliminated." "Eunuch Feng, what do you think of Mr. Zhang's suggestion?" Empress Dowager Li asked Feng Bao. Feng Bao replied respectfully in a sissy manner: "To the Empress Dowager, Mr. Zhang has a good idea, and this is a big deal." Empress Dowager Li nodded, gave Zhang Juzheng a look, and asked: "Mr. Zhang, why is it limited to the Beijing inspection, and local officials everywhere should also be assessed?" Zhang Juzheng replied: "This is not allowed, the local officials are responsible It is the responsibility of the herdsmen. If the inspections are carried out at the same time, it will inevitably cause chaos and cause restlessness in the prefectures and counties. The yamen in the two capitals do not directly face the people and the people, so there is no such trouble in the investigation, not to mention that the atmosphere is from top to bottom. Once the problem is solved, there will be no way for local officials to bribe and slander, and the administration of officials will have a good start.” "Jun'er, you are the emperor, what do you think?" Empress Dowager Li turned her head and asked her son sitting on the imperial couch. Although Zhu Yijun didn't understand the profound principles, he intuitively felt that Zhang Juzheng's suggestion was good, so he replied: "Mr. Zhang's suggestion is very good. However, Wu Ke has to be severely punished." "How to punish?" Queen Mother Li asked. "Remove him from office."  "Why do you want to do this?" "This bastard official has changed his ways to scold me and the queen mother, and won't punish me. How can I, the emperor, still have dignity!" After finishing speaking, Zhu Yijun stomped his feet and puffed up his cheeks to remain angry.  Seeing this, Feng Bao quickly winked at Zhang Juzheng and said: "Mr. Zhang, the emperor's golden words, Wu Ke's status will be cut, so that's it." Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, and replied: "I obey the order." Empress Dowager Li's bright eyes were shining brightly at this time, her cheeks were flushed, and she showed unprecedented excitement. She stared at Zhang Juzheng with fiery eyes and said, "Mr. Zhang, when you go back today, you will immediately draft an edict for the implementation of Jingcha for the emperor." Before Zhang Juzheng could answer, he suddenly saw the eunuch on duty on the platform rush in rashly, knelt down and said: "Long live God, Chen Yingfeng, who is in charge of Dongchang, sent someone to send in a very urgent secret letter." "What?" The little emperor asked nervously. "The Jinyi guards from Fusi in Beizhen fought with the soldiers guarding the storage warehouse."