Chapter 39 The twelfth chapter explores the truth and the truth, the heavenly official comes to the cabinet to reprimand the official Zaifu for telling folk songs

Yang Bo finished his morning porridge, changed his clothes, and was about to order the sedan chair to go to the official department to go to work, when the housekeeper suddenly came to report: Li Ke asked Lu Shude to see him during the matter.Yang Bo thought to himself: "Why don't you go to the Sixth Section Corridor early in the morning and come to see me?" Then he replied: "What time is it, how can I have the time to meet the guests." The housekeeper received a silver reward from Lu Shude , so I spoke for him: "Master Lu has been here three times, but he didn't see it because the master was meeting with guests. Master Lu said that he only said a few words to the master, and it won't waste much time." "Then let him in."

Yang Bo shook his head and sat down reluctantly.  This newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Officials is a Jinshi in the eighth year of Longqing, and he is seventy-two years old this year.Among the current Dajiuqing in the imperial court, he is the oldest and oldest.He became Minister of the Ministry of War in the 33rd year of Jiajing, and became Minister of the Ministry of Officials ten years later.In the second year of Longqing, he became an official because of Xu Jie's involvement.Two years later, when Gao Gong took over as chief assistant, he was recalled again. Since Gao Gong was concurrently appointed Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Yang Bo had to be appointed Minister of the Ministry of War.The Minister of the Ministry of Officials is commonly known as the Tianguan, and the Da Jiuqing is the first.For Yang Bo, changing from an official to a soldier is a bit derogatory.Fortunately, Gao Gong had a scheming plan and suggested to the emperor that Yang Bo be given the title of Minister of the Ministry of Officials and take charge of the Ministry of War. This would take care of Yang Bo's face without losing the power of the Ministry of Officials.Although Gao Gong felt that this idea had the best of both worlds, Yang Bo still felt a little lumpy in his heart.This time Zhang Juzheng adjusted the candidates for the six departments, and let Yang Bo go back to take charge of the official department.Although Yang Bo was grateful to Zhang Juzheng for letting him "reinstate his official position", he still wrote to the emperor to request his resignation.On the one hand, this can show his shilin integrity of avoiding officials and seeking benefits, and on the other hand, he really feels that he is old, and he is a bit powerless to be a "heavenly official" under Zhang Juzheng.But his note was called back by the emperor, and the request was not allowed.He had no choice but to bite the bullet and take office. When he arrived at the official department, Yang Bo wished he could make one day into three days.It's not that he wants to do this, but the situation is a last resort.Every day, whether in the Yamen or at home, there is an endless stream of people who come to visit.Some people come to seek friendship, and some people come to recognize the host.Some people also came to ask for his "Hundred Porridge Book" and ask for advice on how to keep in good health.However, these are all pretexts, and the real purpose of the visiting officials is to inquire about the truth and seek protection.Especially after the little emperor announced the immediate implementation of the Beijing inspection, the threshold of Yang Bo's family was almost broken.After two days like this, Yang Bo couldn't stand it anymore, so he simply issued an order to evict the guest.Every day when I came home from work, I closed the door tightly, and no one was seen.Having said that, there are still people who are trying their best to sharpen their heads to see him.For example, this Lu Shude came to guard the gate early in the morning, so he just took the opportunity. The butler led Lu Shude, who was dressed neatly, into the living room.He turned here first on the way to Shangya.The weather was still very hot, and after basking in the sun for a while, the big fat Kechen had sweat spots on his chest and back.Seeing Yang Bo at this time, he didn't care to wipe his sweat, so he bowed his head.Yang Bo bowed his body as a return, raised his hand to let Lu Shude sit down, and asked: "It's early in the morning, is there anything urgent?"

Lu Shude and Yang Bo are both from Shanxi. Without such a relationship, Lu Shude has no reason to beg for a meeting.He knew that time was tight, so he didn't make any detours, and replied straightforwardly: "Bo Lao, Wansheng is here to ask for help." "Help?" Yang Bo was startled and asked, "What's the matter with you?" Lu Shude looked downcast, and replied aggrievedly: "A few days ago, the colleagues in the six departments of the lower ranks all listened to the imperial decree. , we are going to hold a Beijing inspection, and when we came back to the yamen, everyone discussed it and felt that this was a good idea of ​​the new chief assistant, Zhang Jiangling. Bo, you also know that our Kechen are all playing the Dengwen drum, Feng Bao wished he could not Swallowed us up one by one. This time, he can use the hands of the first assistant to clean up all of us." Yang Bo saw Lu Shude's nervous look, and asked: "What did you hear?  "There are rumors outside that the new Shoufu is going to wipe out Gao Ge's old disciples." "This is all speculation, and you have a dignified etiquette, and you also believe these rumors ?" Yang Bo stroked his long beard and reprimanded angrily.  "Old Bo, the people in the Sixth Section Gallery are not all brains. We have to believe in all kinds of signs!""You speak for each of us, who are you speaking for?"

 "To tell you the truth, all the colleagues in the Sixth Section Gallery know that Wansheng and Bo Lao are from the same hometown, so they urged us to come to you." Lu Shude shyly shook his folding fan non-stop.Looking at his appearance, anxiety, resentment, fear and humbleness are all intertwined.Although Yang Bo looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, he didn't like Feng Bao, the eunuch who hid his knife in his smile. He always sympathized with Gao Gong, who loved the house and black, so he also felt sympathy for Lu Shude, so he muttered:  " Even for this matter, what is the use of you looking for me?" 

Lu Shude replied: "Let's discuss with the officials. Now that the court is full of civil and military affairs, only Bo Lao and Ge Shouli can speak out. The first assistant Zhang Jiangling dare not not listen. Moreover, the four ranks of the court The Beijing inspection of the following officials is also presided over by the two of you, this may be the right way for us Kechen to seek good fortune and avoid evil.""How do you say this?" "The speech officer of our Six Sections Gallery hopes that Bo Lao can tell the emperor, and our Beijing inspection reform will be presided over by the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate."There is a reason for Lu Shude's remark: the six sections of the speech officer, in terms of rank, only Six ranks, but their salary is treated as four ranks.According to their official positions, their Jingcha should be presided over by the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but according to their salary, their Jingcha will be upgraded to the emperor's direct disposal.Lu Shude and the others were worried that facing the emperor directly, Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng could use their hands to provoke public avenge.

If it was left to the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate, with Bo Lao and Ge Shouli, two impartial, non-party and highly respected first-rank ministers mediating the Olympic aid, the situation might still be salvageable. Yang Bo has been involved in government affairs for a long time, and naturally he understands the real motive of the ministers' request. He smiled and said: "The emperor has always presided over the Jingcha of the Sixth Division Langyan. I'm afraid this time is no exception."  "Then, how can Mr. Bo have the heart to see us become meat on the anvil?"

"It's not that serious. You may still have misunderstood the new Chief Assistant. Did he mention the Jingcha to avenge his personal revenge and exclude dissidents? It's not too early, and I don't have time to chat with you."Yang Bo said Get up and order to prepare the sedan chair.Lu Shude hoped to see Yang Bo have a clear attitude, but the old man said a few glib words, which made Lu Shude feel a little hopeful and uneasy.It was not too early, so he had to leave sadly. But he said that Yang Bo came out of Fangjin Lane where he lived in a sedan chair for eight people, turned right about two or three hundred steps, and then went onto East Chang'an Street.At this time, Maoshi was more than half past, and the bustling bustle of cars on the street was very lively.Although Tianguan travels with banners and umbrellas to guide Gua Yue to open the way, there are so many people on the road that he can't go fast.Yang Bo didn't urge him at all, he simply put down the car curtain and closed his eyes to rest his mind--the eyes are closed, but the gods can't rest.He was still thinking about what Lu Shude said. Since the little emperor announced in court four days ago that the Beijing inspection will be implemented immediately, the yamen in the two capitals of Yingtian Shuntian have become a mess.To say it is chaotic is not the noisy and noisy situation that can be seen on the surface.In fact, compared with the past, the door is much deserted.Usually, after going to work, the officials would get together in threes and fives to brag about it.From a certain minister who was reluctant to take off his ponytail skirt when he went to court to a certain prince who became consumptive after eating sea dog kidney; Aside.Not so now.Regardless of whether they have something to do or not, the officials all sit upright in their duty rooms, neither visiting nor whispering.What's more, those high-ranking officials who are on duty in fat vacancies or in important yamen, who used to be very arrogant, and held their heads up for a long time like a big fat goose when they saw people, now they also shrank and softened their necks, saying hello to everyone. They all became smiling bodhisattvas.This is all because the imperial decree of Jingcha has been issued, and officials in the two capitals, no matter how big or small, have to consider their own promotion or stay.In this extraordinary period concerning the future and destiny, who can not be in a hurry?

Who still has the leisure to gag and tell jokes?Even some time ago, because of the turmoil caused by the loss of salaries of pepper and sumac, most officials complained. Some people even wanted to stir up trouble.Now they have all become frost-beaten eggplants, wilted.Therefore, the chaos mentioned earlier is in the hearts of officials in the two capitals.  Investigate the reason, the panic of the officials is mainly because they have no bottom in their hearts.Everyone knows that the ten-year-old little emperor can't be a master, and it is the new chief assistant Zhang Juzheng who really decides the fate of the officials.Under such circumstances, all kinds of speculations about Zhang Juzheng came out and spread like wildfire.For example, Yang Bo didn't know how much he had heard about Wei Xuezeng's and Wang Xilie's concerns, the analysis of the six department officials, and even the scaremongers.Because of the separation of seniority, Yang Bo and Zhang Juzheng have no close friendship.However, he has been in the government for many years, especially in the last two years. During his tenure as Minister of the Ministry of War, he had more contacts with Zhang Juzheng, who was in charge of the Ministry of War in the cabinet.He still has a considerable understanding of Zhang Juzheng's sophisticated thinking and acting style. Although he can't guarantee that Zhang Juzheng will not use the Beijing police to eliminate dissidents, he thinks that Zhang Juzheng's move has far-reaching significance.On this point, not only him, but also senior officials in the two capitals should be aware of it.  Speaking of which, back to the second year of Longqing, Zhang Juzheng, who had just entered the cabinet for less than half a year, was the last of the four ministers in the cabinet at that time, so he gave a "Chen Liu Shishu" to Emperor Longqing.At the beginning of the article, it is said that "recent customs and human conditions, accumulated habits have produced disadvantages, and there are signs of depression, and there are some accumulated accumulations that are hard to return. If you don't make a little change, you may not be able to change the eyes and ears of the world, and the aspirations of the world. I don't think stupidly, thinking day and night, As for what is appropriate today, here are six things, please ask for the money, and prepare for the wise choice." Then, Zhang Juzheng discussed from the province, Zhengang Ji, heavy edicts, verification of names and facts, solid state books, ordering military preparations, etc. He comprehensively and systematically expounded his own policy program in six aspects, hoping that the emperor can "assess the situation and make it more suitable for the people" and carry out reforms in political, economic and military aspects.Change the serious situation of official corruption, ineffective laws, depleted national treasury, slack military equipment, tyrannical forces wantonly annexing land, people going bankrupt, and people living in dire straits left over from the Zhengde and Jiajing dynasties.In this eloquent "Chen Liu Shi Shu", Zhang Juzheng is full of expectations for Emperor Longqing, who will inherit the great line.He only hoped that Emperor Longqing could be like Cheng Tang who was a heroic ruler, and he himself was ready to be a Yi Yin who assisted Cheng Tang to achieve hegemony.But this was just his wishful thinking. Emperor Longqing had never had great ambitions, and he was afraid of suffering so many years to finally ascend to the throne. Therefore, he only wanted to whitewash the peace and drink for his own entertainment, and had no idea of ​​trying his best to rule the country and strengthen the army.What's more, there is a deeper level. Zhang Juzheng has not yet gained the complete trust of the new emperor. At that time, the two famous ministers in the cabinet, Xu Jie and Gao Gong, although they were both wounded because of fighting with each other and retired one after another, there was Li Chunfang in front of Zhang Juzheng. , Chen Yiqin and other well-known veterans who advance and retreat gracefully.Therefore, he, Mosuke, who is only forty-four years old, is not in charge of all the power.In view of these reasons, after Emperor Longqing received the "Chen Liushishu", he only rewarded it in a perfunctory manner.His Zhu criticism "Lan, you are deeply concerned about current affairs, and you have seen the loyalty of seeking the country, and the ministry will discuss and act" is just a piece of paper, and the country's political situation is still on the old road without much change.However, Zhang Juzheng was not discouraged by this incident.Being a famous official like Yiyin Huoguang is his lifelong political ambition, and as always, he waits for the opportunity to appear with patience beyond ordinary people.Hard work pays off, Zhang Juzheng finally seized the opportunity to be awarded the post of cabinet after Emperor Longqing's passing away... Look, I saw the bearers grinding the chair bars and preparing to turn to Fugui Street where the official office is located. He quickly stepped on the sedan chair, lifted the curtain and shouted: "Don't grind, go straight to the cabinet."

Hearing that Yang Bo came to visit in a sedan chair, Zhang Juzheng hurriedly put aside his work and walked to the door of the cabinet to greet him.Yang Bo is the kind of person who is humble on the outside and stubborn on the inside. During Gao Gong's tenure as chief assistant, he never came to the cabinet once.Regarding matters related to the Ministry of War, apart from court discussions, if there are really important matters to be discussed, Gao Gong often goes to the Ministry of War meeting.Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng has been in charge of the Ministry of War, and Gao Gong saved a lot of embarrassment.At that time, although Zhang Juzheng was Yang Bo's boss, Yang Bo was a veteran, and he was highly respected in both the government and the public. Therefore, Zhang Juzheng always showed humility in front of Yang Bo, and held the late birthday gift every time he met.Yang Bo didn't say anything on the surface, but he had a very good impression of Zhang Juzheng in his heart.If not, he would not have visited the cabinet in person today. Yang Bo got off the sedan chair at the door of the cabinet. Zhang Juzheng went up to meet him quickly. There are too many things in my heart, and I want to talk to you." Not talking about discussing, but talking about talking, Zhang Juzheng, who is careful, can hear that Yang Bo wants to show his old status and treat him as a friend at the same time, so he laughed Said:  "You have something to do, the servant can go to the official department."

Yang Bo shook his head, and replied both sincerely and jokingly: "You are now the chief assistant, how can I rely on the old to sell the old, and break the rules of the court?" , in the living room, Zhang Juzheng gave up the front seat to Yang Bo, and sat on Yang Bo's right side.After drinking a few sips of tea, Yang Bo didn't make any detours, and asked straight away: "Uncle, it's been a few days since the emperor announced the Beijing inspection. What kind of public opinion have you heard?" Zhang Juzheng replied: " Bo Lao has always been popular and open-minded, so he must know a lot of public opinions, and I want to hear from Bo Lao.

 ”  Yang Bo quickly said: "Uncle, the public opinion is not good for you!"The crow's feet in the corner of Zhang Juzheng's eyes moved slightly, he smiled and replied calmly: "Really? I would like to hear more about it." Yang Bo frowned, and continued: "I have been in the officialdom for forty-five years. I saw Zhai Luan with my own eyes. , Xia Yan, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Gao Gong The rise and fall of the assistants. I don’t want to comment here on the merits and demerits of their country’s governance. I just want to say that the first thing they do when they come to power is to win people’s hearts. This is almost without exception. Like Yan Song, Everyone knows that he is a treacherous minister, but as soon as he came to power, he asked Emperor Jiajing to increase the ratio of salary discounts for officials in the two capitals. As soon as he took office, he was punished for his injustice. All the officials who were punished by Emperor Jiajing for their honest words, the deceased were given posthumous posthumous titles, and the living were promoted to rank. Then Hai Rui, who had been in prison for two full years, was awarded to Xu Jiezhi. He was released from prison by force, not only rehabilitated, but also promoted from a sixth-rank head of the household department to a fourth-rank Suzhou prefect. For this alone, Shilin Qingyi is very beneficial to Xu Jie. Besides, Gao Gong, although he has a hot temper He is narrow-minded, but except for a few of Xu Jie's cronies, he still treats most of the officials well. For example, for those veterans who have been ministers for many years and can no longer be promoted, he offers Long Qing The emperor asked for an additional award. Either he was promoted to be a Grand Master or to be promoted to a Grand Tutor. These honorary titles are all false titles, but with this false title, it is the same as your promotion to a bachelor, changing from a second rank to a first rank The salary has reached the top level, with hundreds of stones and thousands of taels of silver added in a year, and besides himself, there are also routinely favored descendants, so that one of his sons can directly enter the officialdom without taking the exam, and become a Zhongshu Sheren or Tai Dr. Chang and others, this solves the worries of veterans. These tactics are not harmful to the court, but also beneficial to officials. Therefore, despite Gao Gong's flaws, he can still stabilize the political situation and create a situation where everyone responds.  "But your uncle, just entered the land of Jiheng, all the officials will lead you to look at it, listen to it, and see what your uncle does, so that they can benefit from it.After waiting and waiting, the benefits did not come to a star, but a pepper sumwood discount came.The military officers making trouble in the food storage warehouse logically violated the great law of the imperial court and should be severely punished, but the officials in the yamen in Beijing sympathized with them.People's hearts are against each other, and this is self-explanatory.This wave has not yet subsided, followed by another stern Jingcha.This has made the officials of the two capitals panic and restless.Everyone knows that it was your idea to pay the pepper sumu salary and the Jingcha. Uncle, if you do this, don't you want to enrage all the officials and turn the officialdom into a cold and thorny place of attack? " This paragraph of Yang Bo's words can be said to be from the bottom of his heart. Although he kept his mouth shut, the eyebrows that raised his sword were still showing his inner excitement.This old man is really well maintained. After talking for half a day, his mouth is not dry and his energy is still very high.Hearing these words, Zhang Juzheng felt very uncomfortable.On the one hand, he admitted that Yang Bo's words were all loyal words. If the veteran of the three dynasties hadn't regarded him as an old friend, he would never have come all the way to the cabinet under the venomous sun to speak to him.But on the other hand, he also felt that the reason why his proposed Jingcha was widely criticized was that people did not understand his real motives.Yang Bo came to persuade out of friendship, even if he could hear the criticism, the attitude of ordinary people can be imagined.Although Zhang Juzheng is good at restraining himself, his heart cannot but be heavy.Sometimes, he said slowly: "Bo Lao's words are deafening, and I will remember them in my heart, and I should think about them deeply. But as a prime minister, I only obey orders, and when I respond to the country's affairs, I always regard decency as the right thing. How can I dare to protect it?" In the past, when Fan Wenzheng was in charge of the country, he was deeply concerned that the income of all road supervisors was not human, so he used the selection book to examine them one by one, and those who failed to pass were marked off with a pen. His friends advised him Said: "If one person is retired for one sum, the family is crying. Please be merciful." Fan Gong replied, "Which one is more distressing than crying all the way to a county? Woohoo, I live in a Prime Minister, you should take the world as the public, how can you cherish the benevolence of a woman, cry for the family and show mercy.” Fan Gong’s righteousness is enough to shock the ages. The servant thinks that only in this way is the prime minister’s arms and can bear the burden. From the prime minister's discussion of Taoism, Bang Xie's responsibility for yin and yang. If the political affairs are in order, the people's hearts will be in order, and the people's hearts will be in harmony with the Qi of heaven and earth, and the Qi of heaven and earth will be orderly. If things don’t go well, you can find out by examining the hearts of the people. However, those who want to make people’s hearts go smoothly are officials. Those who give do not do it. The direct consequence is that the emperor's love for the people cannot be carried out, and the sufferings of the common people cannot be relieved. The upper and lower barriers, the yin and yang are not intertwined, and the hearts of the people are not smooth. Instead of taking drastic measures to get rid of the carbuncle, as Fan Gong ridiculed, he tried his best to promote the benevolence of women in order to win the hearts of a hypocritical official. Wouldn't the country's handle and temple artifact become a plaything in the hands of Mr. Haohao! "Zhang Juzheng was originally a man of great prestige, even if what he said was thunderous, it was just a smooth talk, which made people feel calm.Although Yang Bo admired Zhang Juzheng's mind for taking the world as his own responsibility, he was quite disapproving of his view of "a woman's benevolence". As soon as Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, Yang Bo gently retorted:  "Uncle, Jun En The vastness is far and wide. People have welfare and officials should also have welfare. How can it be called a woman's benevolence as a prime minister to seek benefits for all officials in convenient occasions?"Yang Bo speaks eloquently.Zhang Juzheng knew that even if this debate continued for ten and a half months, there would be no result.Then he got up and walked into the inner case room, opened the file on the table and took out two pieces of paper, then returned to the reception room and handed it to Yang Bo, saying: "Old Bo, look at these two doggerels." Yang Bo took it, and saw that these two pieces of paper were from the Yamen of the Wucheng Bingmasi.On each piece of paper, four lines of rhyme were copied baldly.Yang Bo looked at the first one first, which read: a Five Books,  Three males more than sixty.  The servant is the censor,   more like Jingshan pigs. look at the second one: Mandao small people's life is difficult,   only to blame officials are greedy.  Now you look at Chang'an Road,   do not see the blue sky only see the official.Just these two jingles, Yang Bo read them many times.After reading it, his first thought was: How could there be such a thing on Zaifu's desk?The next second thought was: Wang Zhuan, the official inspecting the city and censor of Wucheng Bingmasi, is known to be Zhang Juzheng's pocket character, and these two pieces of paper are most likely sent by Wang Zhuan.This person understands Zhang Juzheng's thoughts best, and he must have sent this to suit his preferences, that is to say, this is what Zhang Juzheng is "good".  "Uncle, is this from Wang Zhuan?" Yang Bo asked bluntly.  "Exactly."  "Where did Wang Zhuan get such a jingle?"  "This is a folk song!" Zhang Juzheng corrected with a smile, "The ups and downs of the national fortune, the turmoil of the officialdom, and the support of the people can be seen from the ballads passed down orally by the common people, which is what you call jingles. Appreciate the songs and Knowing its people, singing its ballads and knowing its customs. Therefore, King Wen of Zhou specially appointed a poetry collector to collect folk songs, analyze the thoughts of the people from them, and provide a basis for formulating his program of governing the country. It's really a good tradition!" After such a small break, Yang Bo understood why Zhang Juzheng was so good at it.He muttered, "Wang Zhuan is also a ghost, and he can get the ballads that Shoufu wanted." "Old Bo, Wang Zhuan didn't get these two ballads, but I heard them with my own ears." of?""Oh, where did you hear that?"  Zhang Juzheng laughed, and then talked about something that happened the night before yesterday.