Chapter 63 The thirty-sixth chapter borrowed a draft ticket for Zai Kui to start a new policy and got the secret Zha Mingyue to shine on his heart
In the morning, as soon as Zhang Juzheng arrived at the cabinet, the eunuch came to convey to him the emperor's two oral instructions: first, this autumn's sutra banquet will be held on October 10; second, every time you see Mr. Abnormal, the fragrance lasts for a long time, I don't know what ink is used, please let me know.
After hearing these two edicts, Zhang Juzheng was overjoyed, and ordered the Book Office to reward the eunuch with five taels of silver.The eunuch who delivered the decree came to the cabinet many times to deliver the decree, but never received a reward.Zhang Juzheng's sudden generosity today surprised him very much. He said a few words of gratitude and left happily.How did he know how much effort Zhang Juzheng had spent in order to obtain this oracle.
On that day in the East Room of Wenhua Hall, Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng were discussing about the Emperor's Sutra Banquet.Regarding the expenditure of one hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver, Zhang Juzheng knew that he could not resist, so he intentionally or unintentionally made a suggestion that such an important matter must choose an auspicious day.Feng Bao returned to the palace to report to Empress Dowager Li.Empress Dowager Li felt that Zhang Juzheng's suggestion was very good, so she went out of the palace in disguise at Feng Bao's suggestion, and went to Li Tiezui's word testing office.
The first day, when You Qi learned from Xu Jue that Feng Bao and Qiu Deyong had gone to the word testing office to find out the facts, and that Empress Dowager Li decided to go in person, he immediately reported to Zhang Juzheng.The chief assistant, who was exhausted physically and mentally by the current chaotic court situation, suddenly saw a glimmer of life.He immediately instructed You Qimian to find Li Tiezui overnight.You Qi obeyed his master's order, knocked on Li Tiezui's door at midnight, and told him that tomorrow, what kind of people would come to his library to test the characters, no matter what characters the mother and son reported for him to test, he would definitely There are two things to do: first, when it comes to spending money, say that there is no money to spend at the moment, and if you insist on spending money, there will be disasters; second, if you want to choose an auspicious day, try to postpone it as much as possible.Li Tiezui has been in business for more than 20 years, and has never encountered such a thing. Out of professional ethics and his own dignity, he can completely reject this stranger's suggestion.But You Qi's speech and behavior made him feel that those who come are not kind, and those who are kind will not come.After hesitating again and again, he asked, "Why do we do this?" You Qi took out a piece of fifty taels of grain silver from his pocket and put it on the table—this was awarded to Zhang Juzheng by the emperor that day.You Qi said: "Do as I said, this right is to reward silver." Li Tiezui has lived in the capital for many years, and he recognized that this ingot of patterned silver was produced by the inner government, and he felt more and more strange about it.Thinking that it is not difficult for the visitor to ask, and with this large ingot of grain silver to earn, he nodded and agreed.The next day he acted as planned, showing his iron-tongued skills, keeping his word and meaning in his words, and taking what You Qi confessed as a "mystery".That night, You Qi went to Li Tiezui to ask for a reply. Zhang Juzheng was skeptical after hearing this.Now after hearing this oracle, I believe that what Li Tiezui said is true.Thinking of such a big difficulty, but relying on the glib of a charlatan to get through it, not only did he not feel relieved, but on the contrary, he felt a heavy sense of guilt.
If the first oracle made him feel at ease, the second oracle made him even more excited.Although asking Mo is a trivial matter, it can be seen that the little emperor treats him as a "master" again.This small change indicates that Queen Mother Li's once shaken trust in him has been restored.He looked in the direction of Qianqing Palace, the Forbidden City bathed in the bright autumn sun, at this moment the weeds did not move, and the dust did not fly.His mood suddenly calmed down, and after a little thought, he stretched out his pen and paper, and wrote the following post:
Looking up at His Majesty the Emperor, my minister Zhang Juzheng just asked about the imperial decree to ask about ink, and I respectfully replied as follows. The ink used by the minister is called Crystal Palace Ink, which was made by Wang Tingqi from Gaishe.The courtware called itself Crystal Palace Guest, a wealthy and elegant family, traveling with scholar-bureaucrats, and made good inks as gifts every year, but only dozens of pieces were made, and none of them were sold in the old workshop.I once heard from a friend that Wenjing Gong’s ink making method is very refined: use good pure pine smoke, dry pound it and sieve it, mix five taels of glue per catty of tobacco, soak it in skin juice, the skin is Jiangnan stone sandalwood bark.Its skin is watery green, which not only degummes, but also improves the ink color.After soaking in smoke, use five pieces of white chicken and one or two each of pearl and musk, all of which are in harmony with each other, and pound 30,000 pestles in an iron mortar, which is indispensable.In Dafan ink, the firmness is the most important, and in ancient ink, the pine heart of the party is the smoke, and the decoction of Daijun antler glue is used as the paste, and it is as firm as a stone.This was created by the ancestors of Yishui people, and the ancestors were the Mo officials of the Tang Dynasty.Later, Wang Chao obtained the true biography of the ancestors.At the end of the Tang Dynasty, he and his son Yan moved to live in She. This is the ancestor of the court.The commentator said that the ink made by the court is as firm as jade, its fragrance is like orchid, its pattern is like a rhinoceros, it is no longer than a chi, and it is as thin as a chopstick.It takes three years to use up, and the edge of the grinding place is like a knife, which can cut paper.Using his ink books and tablets, the slips have been decayed for a long time but the characters do not move, which is said to be firm.
Writing here, Zhang Juzheng called Yao Kuang, the office bookkeeper, in, and asked him, "How many inks are there left in the Crystal Palace?""Two."
"Okay."
Zhang Juzheng agreed, and wrote down:
Crystal Palace ink used by the minister was obtained from Xu Guo, a scholar of the Imperial Academy.Xu is a Sheren, with superb knowledge, and is highly respected by scholars.Xu Guo was one of the three lecturers selected by the emperor for the banquet.There are still two pieces of Crystal Palace ink in my collection, and I am presenting it to the emperor for trial use. If it is called holy, I can order the magistrate of Shezhou to list the Crystal Palace ink as a special tribute.Zhang Juzheng prostrated himself.
After writing, Zhang Juzheng double-checked that there were no mistakes, so he ordered Yao Kuang: "You seal this post together with the two crystal palace inks, and send them to the Supervisor of Ceremonies and forward them to the emperor."
As soon as Yao Kuang left, Zhang Juzheng didn't even move his body, and began to read the memorial sent by the director of ceremonies to be drafted.The first excerpt, is the dedication of Shi Lang, the right servant of the Nanjing Ministry of Punishment, one of which reads
The ancestors set up the Criminal Department, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple, which are called the Judiciary, whose responsibility is to correct official evil and clear prison lawsuits.Dongchang and Jinyiwei were set up, which are called prisons, so thieves were arrested and traitors were interrogated.The abolishment of a husband's job is called desertion of officials; the seizure of positions is called invasion of officials.From now on, all corrupt officials who are unjustly imprisoned will still be held accountable by the judiciary to ask questions and defend themselves.If there are hidden feelings and tricks, listen to the factory guard investigation report.All thieves and thieves are still responsible for the inspection and capture of the factory guards, but they must be interrogated to understand and sent to the judicial department to report.Only when the responsibilities of the judiciary and the factory guard are clearly defined, can everything be done properly, and the affairs of the yamen will not be chaotic.
After reading this memorial, Zhang Juzheng put it down and picked up another one to read.This excerpt is from "Chen Shi Shi Shu" written by Xie Jianzhi, the censor of Shandong Province:
...... Today, the people's power is getting weaker and the government treasury is empty. I beg the various ministries to check the situation compared with the early years of Longqing: for example, how many civilian officials have been added to the Ministry of Officials, the number of new officials in the Ministry of Households, and the salary of each palace, and the new situation of the Ministry of Rites. How much will be added to the supply and sacrifices and rewards, how much will be added to the Ministry of War for military posts and salaries, and how much will be added to the Ministry of Industry to add workers and construction materials.All ministries should check and report the total number item by item. In this way, the disadvantages of excessive corruption and ink can be avoided, and the income can be spent within one's income.
Zhang Juzheng finished reading nine memorials to be drafted in one breath, not only did not feel tired, but felt extremely energetic.In addition to the above two, there are seven remaining among the nine papers. Three of them sparked discussions about Jiang Erwang's empty stall at the patrol shop in Suzhou Hutong in the capital.Anyone who eats money and is greedy for money will be severely punished; there are two things related to financial management, and they will clean up the accumulated debts and money owed by all prefectures and counties across the country; Save and save for national use.Here is an excerpt written by Luo Xianji, the prime minister of Guanglu Temple. It is said that during the fifth and sixth years of Longqing, the offerings were brought in from Guanglu Temple to be used for the emperor's meals and for his fasting. A total of 23,340 Five pieces were retained by the servants.Luo Xianji used sharp words, saying that the practice of taking things without returning them was similar to being greedy for ink, and hoped that the emperor would issue an order to clear and return these large quantities of objects from the Shangshan Supervisor.
It is not difficult to see that although these nine excerpts discuss different matters, they have a common feature, that is, to expose current malpractices and criticize the government.Putting them together now feels like a lot of weight.How can an outsider know that their release from the cage originally came from Zhang Juzheng's painstaking efforts.However, it is said that the first auxiliary system created by Zhu Hongwu is quite different from the prime minister system of the Tang and Song dynasties.Although the status of the first assistant and the prime minister is similar, the way of handling the country is very different.The prime minister has the power to promote, transfer, and avoid life and death, and the chief assistant is only the emperor's adviser in name.He could neither promote nor demote any official, mobilize a single soldier, and it was even more impossible for him to directly issue orders to major yamen and prefectures and counties across the country.However, the first minister also has the same prominent power, that is, drafting votes.The government affairs of the state, no matter how big or small, are subject to the emperor's imperial decree.But the imperial decrees of the emperor, except for very few cases, are generally drafted in the cabinet.The emperor agreed with the proposed bill, and ordered the supervisor of ceremonies to copy it again, which is called criticism.If the emperor disagrees, he still has to send it back to the cabinet for redraft.Sometimes, the emperor can also bypass the cabinet and issue "central decrees", but it is impossible to do this often, and a large number of imperial decrees have to be approved by vote.In this way, Shoufu can indirectly control the political situation of Chao Gang through drafting votes.Such a way of governing has constraints on both the emperor and the chief assistant.If there is a conflict between the two sides, only the chief assistant will fail.Although the emperor cannot change the official document system established by his ancestors, he can replace the chief assistant.Therefore, the chief assistant who wants to make a difference must first assess the situation, find out the emperor's temper, and use his own point of view to influence the emperor.The second is to tell the relevant officials what you think, let them write a statement to the emperor, and then exercise the right to draft a vote to approve the proposal.When Gao Gong was in office, the reason why he was able to dominate the court was that he was favored by the emperor and had a large number of disciples serving him.Zhang Juzheng has been in the cabinet for a long time, how can he not know the secret?Although he hated cronies, he had to admit in private that under such a system, without cronies, nothing would be achieved.Therefore, he set two principles for himself: use skills to maintain righteousness, form cliques and not seek personal gain.Based on this, over the years he has also carefully recruited comrades and cultivated influence. .In the two months since he took office as Chief Assistant, he seems to have gone through 20 long years.To put it more seriously, he is in anxiety, hope, excitement and pain every day.However, as a person who has been keeping a low profile for many years, he was not intimidated by this temporary predicament. Just after Tong Liben hanged himself, he felt that the situation might change.After careful consideration, he sent more than 20 urgent letters all over the country, and the recipients were all his disciples and old friends.He secretly taught them how to write advice to the emperor.The nine memorials that are now on his desk are the first batch of them.Since the emperor sent all the proposals to the cabinet, his attitude is self-evident.Thinking of this level, Zhang Juzheng's eyes sparkled, and a magnificent vision suddenly rose in his mind: the Wanli New Deal is about to start! So, in extreme excitement, he drafted a draft.
The proposal for the memorial to Shi Lang is:
Guochao Chuangju Law Firm and Factory Guard each have their own responsibilities.
The ticket for Xie Jian's "Chen Shiwei Shu" is proposed to be:
There are current disadvantages in this dredging, the ministers of various ministries and colleges have read it, and reported it in detail without delay.
The ticket to Luo Xianji, the prime minister of Guanglu Temple, was proposed to be: the theft of utensils happened frequently, and this was all because of Meng Chong's appointment.The utensils mentioned should be returned in full.In the future, when encountering such things, they will be written and inspected, and the supervisor of Shangshan and the eunuchs on duty in each palace will send them out according to the number.
Just after drawing up these three tickets, Zhang Juzheng put down his pen and said to close his eyes to rest for a while, when suddenly he heard someone knock on the door.
"Who?"
"It's me."
Yao Kuang pushed the door open and entered.
"Have you posted the post?"
"Give it away." Yao Kuang said with a nervous look on his face, "Master Shoufu, something big happened."
"What's the matter?"
“The Yangwei Hutong was on fire.”
The fire burned for a long time.The wind helped the fire to burn more and more fiercely. Thanks to the capital camp sending hundreds of soldiers to fight the fire, the fire was brought under control and completely extinguished in the evening.According to preliminary statistics, the fire killed five officials, 24 onlookers and residents, burned 187 houses, and hundreds of people were trampled and burned.More than a dozen of them were seriously injured, and their lives were dying.Tong Liben's coffin and Chai'er sitting on the wooden armchair were all burned into a pile of black charcoal.His pale-headed old Zheng was trampled to death in the chaos, and his concubine Gui'er was burnt to pieces, lying on the bed only breathing out but not breathing in.Yangwei Hutong became a crematorium. Tong Liben, who was ignorant and dull during his lifetime, but exploited after his death, never imagined that thirty people would be buried with him..
When the fire was in full swing, Zhang Juzheng visited the scene to inspect the fire in person, and made some intense arrangements for fire fighting and aftermath disposal.
He didn't board the sedan chair until the ashes disappeared and the officials who were burnt to pieces and their hair and hair were scorched were carried away one by one.
On the way back, he thought about how the tragedy happened, how to investigate the truth of the incident, and how to deal with the aftermath.At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that the fire had helped a lot.He can now let go and pursue the responsibility of the perpetrator without having to worry about all kinds of rumors.Thinking about what happened these days, he couldn't help shaking his head and smiling wryly, thinking in his heart: "The ancients are still right, if you do many unrighteous actions, you will die yourself, but the sky cannot be deceived."
As soon as he got home, Zhang Juzheng sent someone to look for Wang Zhuan.When he came to the study after dinner, the hall servant came in to report that Wang Zhuan had arrived, and Zhang Juzheng ordered him to come to the study to meet him.
As soon as he sat down, Wang Zhuan couldn't wait to say: "Shoufu, today's big fire is really a blessing."
Zhang Juzheng felt the same, but his face darkened, and he said: "A fire burned so many innocent people to death, how can you, as a minister, take pleasure in other people's misfortune?"
Wang Zhuan originally wanted to flatter, but he did not expect to be reprimanded. Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and smiled dryly to cover up his embarrassment.
"What's the public opinion outside?" Zhang Juzheng asked again.
Wang Zhuan replied: "I haven't sent the interview forms for my subordinates yet. I have ordered you to send them here as soon as you have a secret report."
Wang Zhuan has a group of plainclothes eyes and ears who specialize in visiting all kinds of people in the capital. Although they are not as powerful and wide-eyed as Feng Bao's Dongchang, they still make the officials and gentry in the capital feel a great threat.Feng Bao's Dongchang originally served the emperor directly. Because the emperor was young, Zhang Juzheng was actually in charge of taking pictures of the court. In addition, he had a hot fight with Feng Bao. Therefore, only the emperor could read the Dongchang visit list. Feng Bao will also give him a copy of the secret letter.Just because of the control of the two dark lines, every move of the officials in the capital is under Zhang Juzheng's control.
Wang Zhuan went on to say: "The fire terrified all the officials who participated in the public sacrifice. Not to mention the dead and injured, those who escaped by chance, also became frightened birds."
"Where is Wei Xuezeng?"
"He was seriously injured. It is said that he snatched six people from the fire in a row. He fainted from the smoke and the soldiers poured water on him. He still refused to leave and insisted on fighting with the soldiers. Fight the fire together. His beard is burned off and his face is full of big blisters."
"Wei Xuezeng is not the same person as Wang Xilie." Zhang Juzheng admired Wei Xuezeng's daring heroism very much.
"Yang Bo, Ge Shouli, etc., all praised Wei Xuezeng as a man." Wang Zhuan spoke casually.
"Where is Wei Xuezeng now?"
"At home, Yang Bo called the imperial physician to heal his injuries. However, I heard that there is already a team of guards in front of his house."
"Ah?" Zhang Juzheng was taken aback.
Jinyiwei is the same as Dongchang, and it is also directly under the control of the emperor.Since Jin Yiwei had been dispatched, it proved that the emperor knew about this matter. He guessed that the emperor must have listened to Feng Bao's words and wanted to severely punish the perpetrators.So I asked again:
"Where's Wang Xilie?"
"His injury is not serious, but I heard that he suffered from panic attacks, crying and laughing at home."
"Is there a Jinyiwei in front of his house?"
"Yes," Wang Zhuan blinked and said flatteringly, "The first assistant, Jin Yiwei is dispatched, the emperor's will is very clear."
"Well," Zhang Juzheng nodded, and said thoughtfully, "Today's fire is a bit strange, is it really offending God?", "The capital city is dry in autumn, even a dog's nose is dry enough to bleed. What's more Those paper-stuffed necromancers, if splashed with a single spark, will immediately set off a prairie fire."
"Why did you get angry, Jiedong, you must investigate clearly."
"Yes."
While the two were talking, Si Yan reported that someone outside wanted to see Wang Zhuan.Wang Zhuan went out for a while and came back, his face flushed with excitement, and he shouted:
"Shoufu, Wang Xilie is dead."
"How did you die?" Zhang Juzheng asked in surprise.
"Hanging himself by the beam, this is the news that the subordinates just got," Wang Zhuan said contemptuously, "This pustule, seeing that Jin Yiwei has sealed the door, I know that I can't escape the guilt. It’s better to kill yourself.”
Zhang Juzheng replied: "You can't live by yourself. Jiedong, about the whole story of the fire, you write a note overnight. Tomorrow sent it to the cabinet early in the morning to replay it to the emperor."
"Humble post obeys orders."
Wang Zhuan bowed to answer.It stands to reason that he should get up and say goodbye, but he dawdled and refused to move.
"Do you have anything else to do?" Zhang Juzheng asked.
"Yes." Wang Zhuan stretched out his head to look outside, and said in a low voice, "Yesterday, I went to Jixianglu."
"Ah?" Zhang Juzheng remembered Yuniang who was recuperating in Jixianglu, and hurriedly asked, "How is Yuniang now?"
"Her eyes can see something hazy."
"Very good," Zhang Juzheng saw Yuniang's beautiful figure in front of his eyes, a kind of warmth emerged spontaneously, and he urged, "We have to step up the treatment and strive for a speedy recovery. Say, 'Qiaoxiaoqianxi, beautiful eyes Panxi', although Yuniang has a clever smile, but Panpan has beautiful eyes. It will take time."
"Shoufu is right," Wang Zhuan echoed, and said, "Yu Niang asked the humble official to bring the letter, she wants to see you."
"Really?" Zhang Juzheng smiled slightly, "Let's talk about it after a while. Tell her to calm down and recuperate during these times."
"Yes."
Wang Zhuan was about to step down, but Zhang Juzheng called to stop him again, and asked, "Jiedong, I heard that Jiang Erwang was imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and he complained all day long. What do you think should be done with him?"
Wang Zhuan had known for a long time that Zhang Juzheng had made up his mind to punish corrupt ink.Jiang Erwang was a breakthrough, followed by Yang Yongcheng, and I don't know how much more strings will be drawn behind.Although he deeply sympathized with Jiang Erwang in his heart, he said cruelly at this moment:
"What is he calling wrong? Two vacancies have been used for five years. This is a matter of solid evidence. Although he is a subordinate of a humble position, his humble position does not protect his weaknesses. It is recommended that the chief minister punish him severely."
"What a good Jiedong, serving the country impartially and not showing favoritism, this is an official!" Zhang Juzheng praised, and then said, "Last time I have said that if you do well, you will be promoted. I I will do what I say, this time the Beijing inspection, the transfer of officials from the two capitals is relatively large, I am going to recommend you to Yangzhou to serve as the censor of Caojiang to the emperor, what do you think?"
Caojiang Yushi manages water transportation, and the Jianghuai salt transportation envoy who also founded Yangzhou is the most eye-catching yamen.Cao Jiang Yushi was awarded the third-rank title, so Wang Zhuan was not only promoted to a higher level, but also got a fat job.Although he was overjoyed in his heart, he said in his mouth:
"The lowly job is in the capital, and I can get the advice of the chief assistant every day and night. If I go too far, won't I be in a panic?"
"Is this what a man said, it's worthless!"
Zhang Juzheng cursed in good faith, and waved his hand to make Wang Zhuan retreat.He got up and walked to the desk, opened a file on the desk, and took out a piece of paper, on which were written the names of more than 20 people, all of whom were ministers of the third grade or above in each yamen in the two capitals—he was going to propose to the emperor for promotion or the deposed one.At this moment, he browsed again:
Cao Jin, the right servant of the Ministry of Punishment, was reassigned as the governor of Shaanxi
Wang Xilie, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, was reassigned as the supervisor of Nanjing Guozijian
Wei Xuezeng, the left servant of the Ministry of Officials, was re-appointed as governor of Sichuan
Bi Zhao, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, was appointed as the governor of Shanxi
Jiang Kongsu, the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, was reassigned as the supervisory censor of Jiangxi
Su Chenglu, the right servant of the Ministry of War, was transferred to the right servant of the Nanjing household department
Liu Yiru, the left servant of the Ministry of punishment, was transferred to the left servant of the Ministry of officials
Chen Zan, the right servant of the household department, was changed to the left servant
The left servant of the household department, Guo Chaobin, the governor of the Tianxia warehouse
Li Jin, the right servant of the Nanjing household department, was transferred to the governor of Yunnan
Hunan Procurator Li Yihe was promoted to the right capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate
Jiangxi governor Pan Jixun was promoted to the left servant of the Ministry of Industry
Hubei governor Wang Bokun was promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of War
After reading this list, Zhang Juzheng picked up a pen to tick off Wang Xilie's name, and changed it under Wei Xuezeng's name to "change to the right of Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate. Metropolitan Censor".He was about to write a secret letter to the emperor on this list, when You Qi knocked on the door and came in to report:
"Master, your in-law, Lord Liu, is here."
"Where are people?"
"In the flower hall."
Zhang Juzheng got up and went to the flower hall to meet each other. As soon as he was seated, he smiled and said, "Meng Zhen, why haven't you been here for so long?"
Since Zhang Juzheng took office as chief assistant, almost all fellow villagers from Hubei came to congratulate him, except Liu Yiru who did not come.At this time Liu Yiru replied:
"You are new to the chief minister, and you have a lot of political affairs, so it's inconvenient for you to disturb me because of your lowly position."
"There is no need to be too formal among relatives."
Zhang Juzheng reprimanded gently, and then asked some homely things about his daughter and son-in-law.Zhang Juzheng kept silent about today's fire, and Liu Yiru refused to say a word about it.After talking about the gossip, Liu Yiru ordered his family to bring a brocade box in, and said: "Mr. Sending a letter to the Prime Minister is really a gratifying and important event. I can't think of how to express my heart at the moment. I went to the Liulichang Antique Shop a while ago. When I saw this thing, I bought it, I don’t know if you like it or not.” As he spoke, he untied the ribbon, and carefully took out a shakuwu-sized alms bowl from the brocade box.Zhang Juzheng stepped forward to watch it with great interest. This bowl is made of Yangxian sand and is used for water injection.On the ears on both sides of the bowl, there is a green water chestnut on the left, a light red lychee on the right, and a light yellow Ruyi branch between the two.On the chassis are two entwined black dragons and tigers.The four claws are stretched out, just like the four feet of the bowl.The four characters "Xining Two Years" are engraved on the tiger's belly, which turned out to be an old thing from the Song Dynasty.Looking closely at these ornaments, they are all lifelike in their shapes.According to the age, the second year of Xining has a history of more than 500 years, but this bowl is well preserved without any damage.
"Well, this is a treasure, thank you Meng Zhen for finding it." Zhang Juzheng said appreciatively, "I have set a rule long ago that all gifts will be rejected. But this time I make an exception and accept it."
Liu Yiru thanked you, and then said: "I still have one thing to ask for in a lowly position."
"Please speak."
"This time in Beijing, I want to leave the Ministry of Punishment."
Zhang Juzheng seemed to have expected that Liu Yiru would make this request, and said: "Meng Zhen, I heard that in front of Tong Liben's house that day, Wei Xue used to name you and despised you. By the way, he also brought me and Wang Zhigao."
"It's true." Liu Yiru replied, "In the Ministry of Punishment, there is indeed something wrong with suing Ruo Tangguan, and I'm Zuoer."
"If you don't talk about this matter, I'm thinking about making a move. Although it was my idea to tell Ruo Ruo to transfer from Nanjing to the Ministry of Punishment, his qualifications and reputation were unanimously approved by the court. Your assistant It is not because of my nepotism that I became an official. I am not afraid of outsiders' comments on this point. What I am worried about is that the two in-laws live in the same house, and when things happen, they should be good gentlemen, which is not good for public or private. I just want to take advantage of the Jingcha to transfer your position. You came today just in time, and I want to ask your opinion face to face. There are many vacant seats in the Beijing Yamen this time. I don’t know where you would like to go.”
Hearing this, Liu Yiru's heart tightened suddenly.It was said that Zhang Juzheng was using the Beijing Police to eliminate dissidents, but now he said that "many seats will be vacated", which shows that the rumors are true.Reminiscent of the ups and downs in the capital during these times, he blurted out:
"I would like to go to Nanjing."
"Nanjing? Are you willing to go to Nanjing?" Zhang Juzheng suspected that he had misheard, and asked repeatedly.
"Yes, I'm willing to go to Nanjing." Liu Yiru has obviously considered maturely, and said calmly, "According to Zichen's papers, I have a humble position. The emperor deposed him for use. I came to see you today. I want to express my heart to the chief assistant again. I really want to go to Nanjing. Any idle job is enough."
Liu Yiru spoke sincerely, and Zhang Juzheng felt a little unhappiness in his heart, and said unhappily: "I am going to recommend you to the Ministry of Officials to replace Wei Xuezeng, so it seems that I have to give up." Liu Yiru saw that his goal had been achieved, and if he stayed longer, he was afraid of causing trouble, so he got up and left .Looking at the background of his departure, Zhang Juzheng thought in his heart: "This Liu Yiru, after all, has a clean style." Glancing at the antique Liu Yiru left on the case, he called You Qi and said, "Look at what kind of object this is. , the four things on it are neither fish nor fowl, they are not close to each other, and I don’t know what they mean?" You Qi studied for a long time, and suddenly realized something, and he was about to speak but swallowed the words back.
"What did you see?" Zhang Juzheng asked.
"Master, it's hard to say." You Qi hesitated.
"But it's okay to talk."
Seeing that Zhang Juzheng was a little unhappy, You Qi did not dare to disobey him, so he said: "Master, among these four things, take the word 'ling' for the green water chestnut, and the word '李' for the red litchi. For the word 'Ru', the character 'Chi' is used for the black dragon and tiger, and the antique itself is a bowl bowl, and the character 'Bo' is placed in the middle. When these five characters are read together, the homonym is : Smart is not as good as stupid."
After listening to You Qi's explanation, Zhang Juzheng's heart sank, and he thought: "Liu Yiru is not giving away some antiques, but trying to mock him under the guise of a name." What he did was regarded by his in-laws as a "smart" move that Shilin despised, and he couldn't help feeling cold.In the language of official circles, "smart" means well-behaved and charming.And "crazy" means prudence and strength of character.Just after a big fire, Liu Yiru sent this "proverb", and Zhang Juzheng felt greatly insulted and hurt.He really wanted to pick up that bowl and slam it on the ground.But when he stretched out his hand, he changed his mind.
He caressed this ancient and ingenious alms bowl, and said with emotion:
"You Qi, put it in the most conspicuous place in the study, I want to read this motto every day."
Before You Qi left, Si Yan hurried in again and said, "My lord, urgent report from Guangxi."
"Ah!"
Zhang Juzheng took it, and at a glance at Guanfang, he knew that it was the secret letter written by Yin Zhengmao, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. He quickly opened it and read it.Yin Zhengmao informed in the secret letter that five days ago, the bandit suppression army led by him broke through the bandit nest in Shuiyu Mountain, and the two rebel leaders, Wei Yinbao was killed and Huang Chaomeng was captured alive.
After reading this letter, Zhang Juzheng was overjoyed.He walked out of the flower hall with his hands behind his back, and suddenly smelled a strong fragrance.He asked You Qi:
"Is the sweet-scented osmanthus blooming in the back garden?"
"Yes, sir, it's driving well!" You Qi replied.
"Ah!" Zhang Juzheng raised his head to look at the moon, but he saw a round moon hanging in the deep sky.He suddenly remembered that there were still three days left. It was the Mid-Autumn Festival, so he ordered, "You Qi, don't disappoint the garden full of fragrance and bright moon. You go to the back garden and serve refreshments. Please come out and enjoy the moon together, Mrs. .”
You Qi took the order to leave, but after a while, someone came to ask Xu Jue to see him again.
"Lead him in."
Before the words were finished, Xu Jue had already walked in the door, and before he had time to exchange pleasantries, Xu Jue brought him an even more shocking news: the fire at the public sacrifice this morning was caused by Feng Bao who ordered the Dongchang secret agents to mix in the crowd secretly lit.
Zhang Juzheng was stunned for a moment, he stood motionless like a wooden man, he didn't even know when Xu Jue would leave.
"Master!"
You Qi woke him up with a light cry, he turned his head and asked, "What's the matter with you?"
"The refreshments in the back garden have been set up, and my wife has already taken her seat."
Zhang Juzheng waved his hand irritably, and coldly spit out two words:
"Withdrawn!"
2001.1.15.Second draft completed