Chapter 123 The thirty-second time I saw the disciples painstakingly guessing the holy will, entering the platform, making knees and Mu Jingfeng

Zhang Siwei was full of anger, and came home from the cabinet. After changing his clothes, the housekeeper Zhang Shun invited him to dinner, but he had no appetite, so he asked Zhang Shun to order the cook to mix a bowl of honey-stained orchid paste for him After taking it, he sat in the study by himself, still thinking about Feng Bao's disturbance in the cabinet in the afternoon. Since he entered the cabinet as a minister in the fifth year of Wanli, Zhang Siwei has been living in fear. First, he is afraid of Zhang Juzheng's severe political style of "those who follow me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish", and second, he is even more afraid of the Empress Dowager Li and the emperor. He obeyed Zhang Juzheng's words.Before Renge, he was also a daring minister who dared to do what he said, but compared with Zhang Juzheng's iron fist, his few brushes were nothing compared to Zhang Juzheng's iron fist.In addition, the emperor's intention to approve other people's cabinet is to "do affairs with Yuan Furen's cabinet", and he has been judged to be a follower. Zhang Siwei judged the situation and put away his own political opinions.Over the past few years, his image among scholars has completely changed. In the officialdom, no matter whether he is a clean streamer or an official, both people regard him as a mediocre person.Apart from being obsequious in front of Zhang Juzheng, he also flattered Feng Bao very much.He knew that offending the old man was offending Queen Mother Li.But since he became the chief assistant, his mentality has gradually changed.Just like preventing Pan Sheng from entering the cabinet, he considered his own interests and never wanted Pan Sheng's cabinet to pose a threat to him.Therefore, he clearly knew that Pan Sheng followed Feng Bao's path, but he still organized his disciples to impeach him at lightning speed.He took a risky move by listening to Zhang Jing's words.He thought that if the emperor rejected it, he would go to Feng Bao's mansion to plead guilty, and even threw Zhang Jing out to please Feng Bao.Unexpectedly, the emperor agreed to his proposal so readily, which gave him the following impression: the emperor had a grudge against Feng Bao, and Zhang Jing had surpassed Feng Bao to win the emperor's favor.If we talk about the past, dealing with the relationship between Feng Bao and Zhang Jing, he is on two boats.Through this incident, he decided to abandon Feng Qinzhang.He even wondered secretly: Could the emperor use Zhang Jing to test his mind.Zhang Jing told him more than once that the emperor had always wanted to take charge of the government himself, but the Empress Dowager Li insisted on refusing, so he had no choice but to continue to be that kind of "shadow emperor" under the double hostage of Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao.Now that Zhang Juzheng is dead, if the emperor wants to be the king of the country who must do everything personally, he has to remove the stumbling block of Feng Bao.If the emperor wants to do this, he must first obtain the support of the foreign court, especially the cabinet ministers.If this is the case, his new chief assistant is the key.But for a long time, in the eyes of outsiders, the relationship between Zhang Siwei and Zhang Juzheng is like a shadow.If he wants to gain the trust of the emperor, he must show something, that is to say, let the emperor see the difference between him and Zhang Juzheng.

Based on the above analysis, Zhang Siwei was determined to cast stones and ask the way to show his loyalty to the emperor. The impeachment of Pan Sheng was just a small test. After the matter was successful, he thought he had grasped the emperor's mind. big action.To put it simply, he wanted to use the great joyous event of the emperor's imminent birth of a son as an opportunity to carry out his "virtuous government" logically through the implementation of three major events: Jin Feng, amnesty, and exemption from land taxes: Jin Feng can please the royal family, and he will not wait It is said that exempting one-third of the land tax for tax-paying farmers across the country is also a kind deed that the common people cheered for joy.Let's talk about amnesty - this is what Zhang Siwei most wants to accomplish but is least sure of.Because Zhang Juzheng pursued the policy of "heavy codes must be used to rule chaos".In the past few years, the number of criminals held in large prisons has increased greatly. Every autumn, the number of criminals sentenced to be executed in the whole country has increased from hundreds to thousands. Zhang Juzheng still suspects that the criminal law is lax.What's more, in the past ten years, hundreds of officials have been dismissed by Zhang Juzheng's "examination law" or have been detained and sentenced to exile. administrative measures.Whether the emperor is willing to do so is still unknown.But Zhang Siwei knows in his heart that only in this way can he gain the support of a large number of middle- and lower-level officials in a short period of time, thereby consolidating his position.The purpose of Jin Feng is to please the "king's heart"; the exemption of land tax is to win the "people's heart"; the amnesty is to win the "official heart".If the three things are realized, the Wanli Dynasty will surely open a new page with the help of Zhang Siwei.However, what puzzled him was that after he submitted the secret papers on how to implement these three things to the empress, the emperor neither summoned him nor sent the papers back to the cabinet to draft a bill. At this time, I came to the door to Xingshi to ask the teacher...

While Zhang Siwei was sitting alone in the study, Zhang Shun, the housekeeper, came in and said: "Master, Master Li Zhi Yushi has arrived." "Ah!" Zhang Siwei rubbed his eyes drowsily, and just got up to meet in the living room, but after thinking about it, he changed his mind and said to Zhang Shun, "You lead him to the study." In a blink of an eye, Zhang Shun led in a middle-aged official wearing a fifth-rank white pheasant official uniform.I saw him as thin as an onion, with pale eyebrows and mouse eyes, high cheekbones and pointed chin-this appearance, he looked like those court officials in the big shops in the capital who talked about people and talked about people.He is Li Zhi, the supervisory censor who works in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

As soon as Li Zhi entered the door, he quickly lifted the hem of his official robe and knelt down on his knees, and said loudly: "Student Li Zhi is here to greet your lord." Zhang Siwei said affectionately: "Get up, Zhang Shun, show Li Zhi a seat." Li Zhi sat on the chair with half of his buttocks, with a serious look on his face.He was a Jinshi in the second year of Wanli. The chief examiner of that year was Lu Tiaoyang, and the deputy chief examiner was Zhang Siwei.Lu Tiaoyang died of illness in the sixth year of Wanli, and the Jinshi of this year all regarded Zhang Siwei as the seat master.Today, nine out of ten officials above the third rank in the imperial court are personally selected by Zhang Juzheng before his death.Although Zhang Siwei became the chief assistant, none of the ministers in power were willing to listen to him.On the contrary, many of his disciples gathered under his command, and Li Zhi was one of them.Li Zhi belongs to the kind of person who has news all over his body at the touch of a button, and his stomach is full of ghost ideas like stars in the sky.Therefore, he was especially favored by Zhang Siwei, and whenever there was something difficult to decide, Zhang Siwei would bring him to discuss.At this time, when Zhang Shun withdrew and closed the door of the study, Zhang Siwei changed his dignity and said impatiently:

"Li Zhi, do you know why the old man called you here?" Li Zhi blinked his small eyes and asked, "I heard that Eunuch Feng went to the owner's office in the afternoon and made a big fuss." "Who did you hear from?" "Huang Ji." Huang Ji is Zhang Siwei's book office.Zhang Siwei was so depressed that he finally found someone to vomit quickly, so he explained in detail what happened in the value room in the afternoon.When Li Zhi heard this, he shrank his neck and smiled, and said: "Your Majesty, the two golden sayings of the Tang dynasty general 'Don't be stupid or deaf, don't be a family member' have been made into amulets. These two sentences are now being used on you."

"How does it apply to the old man?" Zhang Siwei asked puzzled. "Your Excellency has been the secondary assistant for five years, and has been pretending to be deaf and dumb. Now is the time for you to unsheath your sharp sword." Zhang Siwei frowned, and replied: "Look at your trembling look, and your words are high and low. What kind of sharp sword is out of its sheath?" Li Zhi straightened his seat, and no longer dared to fool around like a fool, but suppressed his smile and said seriously: "Based on my humble opinion, the one the emperor hates the most is not Feng Bao, but Zhang Juzheng."

"Why do you think so?" Zhang Siwei asked. "My lord, do you still remember the incident in the sixth year of Wanli that the emperor molested the court lady because he was drunk?" Li Zhi licked his lips and asked, "It stands to reason that foreign ministers can neither inquire about the secret affairs of the emperor's palace, let alone interfere! Zhang Juzheng not only interferes, He even drafted the "Edict of Guilt" for the emperor and published it in the mansion newspaper. Wouldn't it be a shame and a shame for a 95-year-old emperor to let his ministers manipulate him like this?"

Zhang Siwei felt that Li Zhi's words were not very new, and said: "The "Sinful Edict" is a bit too much, but it does not bother Zhang Juzheng. At that time, the Empress Dowager Li was determined to depose the current emperor and set up another emperor. Wang, it was Zhang Juzheng who persuaded Empress Dowager Li to give up this idea." "This is the crux." Li Zhi's sparse eyebrows trembled for a while, he leaned forward, looked at Zhang Siwei, and said mysteriously, "It is said that the emperor was kneeling at the gate of Fengxian Hall, begging Queen Mother Li Don't depose him, Empress Dowager Li insisted on being stern and not letting go. Why did Empress Dowager Li change her mind once Zhang Juzheng persuaded him? The mystery here makes the emperor have to think deeply!"

"You mean..." "The emperor will definitely think this way: we are the empress dowager's own son, and we are the Ninth Five-Year Supreme. Why is our status in the heart of the Holy Mother not as good as that of Zhang Juzheng?" "What are you guessing about?" "My lord, the low position is not just blind suspicion. In fact, inside and outside the palace, there have been some rumors that have spread like wildfire, saying that the relationship between Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng is ambiguous, which has surpassed the boundary between monarch and minister..."

"Shut up!" Zhang Siwei let out a yell, and Li Zhi swallowed back the words with his tongue drawn back in fright.In fact, he also heard some rumors about Empress Dowager Li and Zhang Juzheng, but he didn't believe it at all.Although Zhang Juzheng liked female sex, he never had the guts to attack Queen Mother Li.Empress Dowager Li really admired Zhang Juzheng, and sometimes it was inevitable that she had some personal affairs, but she did not have the courage to cross the royal moral barrier.Taking a step back, even if Empress Dowager Li behaves inappropriately, it must be the top secret in the world. Who would dare to reveal it? Royal secrets are kept secret. Invite the disaster of killing oneself.Zhang Siwei was annoyed that Li Zhi didn't know the heights of the sky and the earth was lying, so he lowered his face and reprimanded sharply:

"From now on, you are not allowed to mention this matter again." Li Zhi nodded and remained silent for a while. Seeing Zhang Siwei staring at the roof in a daze, he mustered up his courage again, and said cautiously: "My lord, my humble job is not to talk about Zhang Juzheng's privacy. I just want to remind you that you can start from this In matters, try to figure out what the emperor thinks." "The emperor's mind?" Zhang Siwei rubbed his astringent eye bags and asked in doubt, "What can you figure out?" Li Zhi replied: "After the emperor got married, he understood the relationship between men and women. He is unwilling to let any man replace his father, Emperor Longqing, to occupy a place in the Queen Mother Li's heart. Once this man appears, he will definitely put him to death. Then hurry." "Bugu also understands the emperor's mentality." Zhang Siwei thought for a while, and said again, "But Zhang Juzheng has passed away, and the emperor's thousands of jealousy and hatred will be wiped out?" Li Zhi smiled treacherously, and replied: "There is a vulgar saying in our hometown, which is 'the dog is driven out, but the fart is still in the house'. Now in the court, although Zhang Juzheng, the dog, is gone, all the yamen still keep him. fart." Zhang Siwei frowned, and reprimanded: "What kind of mess, put your mouth clean." Li Zhi smiled half-embarrassedly, and said: "Privately, the humble official guesses that the emperor hates Zhang Juzheng, and he will never die because of Zhang Juzheng. Sooner or later, he will liquidate Zhang Juzheng." At this time, Zhang Siwei thought of some information about the emperor that Zhang Jing had secretly revealed to him, and felt that Li Zhi's analysis was somewhat reasonable, and sighed: "After all, the emperor is young, and now all the civil and military officials in the court are Zhang Juzheng's cronies, so powerful and difficult to bully! It's not easy to liquidate him!" "My lord's words are wrong," as soon as the words came out, Li Zhi felt disrespectful. He smiled apologetically at Zhang Siwei, and said in a roundabout way, "When it is winter in the capital, the dripping water becomes ice and snow three feet thick, but in summer, under the scorching sun , where can you see a snowflake? Natural seasons and political laws have the same effect." Zhang Siwei picked up a jasper ruyi on the table, twisted it and replied: "The reason is such a reason, the key lies in the emperor." Li Zhi smiled again, and fired a cannon: "Based on my humble position, the key is not with the emperor. It's with you, the new chief assistant." "Why me?" Zhang Siwei was taken aback. "If the emperor wants to change the course and order the world, he must achieve it through the cabinet's control of the major yamen of the five governments and six ministries. If the chief minister of the cabinet does not understand the emperor's mind well, and the administrative dispatch is in the opposite direction, disasters will inevitably occur between the elbows and armpits. After checking the facts of the past dynasties, the emperor opened Losing a chief assistant is like taking off a pair of stinky socks on your feet. It is too easy. Zhang Juzheng is the only exception since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. This is because the emperor was only ten years old when he became the emperor. Therefore, Zhang Juzheng can play him in the palm of his hands Among them. Now, the emperor has grown up. After ten years of experience, he has already gained a deep insight into the subtleties. The old seat master succeeded Zhang Juzheng and became the second chief assistant of the Wanli Dynasty, and also the first chief assistant of the Wanli emperor after he came to power in person. In the past few months, vicissitudes have changed, and if you want to secure the position of Zaifu, you must completely break with Zhang Juzheng." Li Zhi made a grand statement, although it sounded disrespectful to Zhang Siwei, but it made sense when he thought about it carefully, so he asked leisurely: "How is a rupturing method?" Li Zhi replied: "Zhang Juzheng has been in power for ten years, and he is too strict in terms of official administration and finance. Many powerful and powerful households hate him to the bone." "However, the people all over the world still welcome his reforms." "Hmph, above the temple, in the imperial confinement, how much are ordinary people worth?" Li Zhi spat contemptuously, "All the people who surround the emperor all day long are the nobles and dignitaries. Which ordinary people can see the emperor?" "You don't need to explain these principles," Zhang Siwei wanted to hear Li Zhi's opinion, but was afraid of his high-sounding remarks, so he said, "But let me ask you, if the emperor really intends to liquidate Zhang Juzheng, what would he do?" "Take away Feng Bao!" Li Zhi blurted out.Seeing Zhang Siwei staring at him in shock, he continued to explain, "What the emperor fears the most is his biological mother, Empress Dowager Li. In the past ten years, Empress Dowager Li has used Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao to assist Xiao The emperor is called to teach, but in fact to control. Now that Zhang Juzheng is dead, if Feng Bao is removed, the Empress Dowager Li will be gouged out, even if she still has the heart to control the emperor, there is nothing she can do." Zhang Siwei thought for a while, and said: "Impeach Feng Bao immediately, and the conditions are not yet ripe. It is said that the emperor is still very afraid of him." "That's because the emperor is not sure about bringing him down. I believe that the most important thing now is to let the emperor know how to use authority. Let the emperor really understand that Feng Bao is his slave, not his master." "It makes sense. What Bugu has to do now is to return the blessing to the emperor." Zhang Siwei excitedly raised the jasper wishful in his hand.Suddenly, he seemed to think of something again, and he lowered his raised hand weakly, and said dejectedly, "It's just that for some reason, the emperor has always refused to summon me alone." Li Zhi's small eyes rolled quickly, and suddenly he grinned again, and said, "The humble official has an idea, you might as well try it." "Speaking." "I heard that the emperor is very fond of money, and has tried to transfer money from Taicang many times, but Zhang Juzheng resisted it. Now that Concubine Gong is about to give birth, and it is time for the inner court to spend money, why don't you instruct the Ministry of Households to take the initiative? Allocate a sum of money to the inner court supply library?" "Huh?" When Zhang Siwei heard this, he thought it was a good idea.After thinking for a while, he said again: "Liang Menglong, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, has an extraordinary relationship with Feng Bao. When you go to Taicang to transfer money, you have to pass him first." "Based on his humble position, Liang Menglong will not obstruct this matter. The emperor's son is celebrated by the whole country, and he has no reason to offend the emperor." "That's true." Zhang Siwei nodded and decided to go to the household department in person tomorrow. In the early morning of August 11th, there was a loud cry of a baby in Qixiang Palace.Concubine Gong's concubine Wang Ying'er's fetal gas activated and successfully gave birth to a son. This was Zhu Changluo who was later crowned crown prince.Zhu Yijun got married in the spring of the sixth year of Wanli, and it has been four and a half years since then. The empress and empress who married him have never been pregnant, and the queen of the palace, Yinger, secretly dipped in the rain and dew, and played the role of inheriting it. This is really intentional When planting flowers, the flowers will not grow, but willows willows will be planted inadvertently to make shade.Before Concubine Gong gave birth, the palace was really busy for a while. Under the personal supervision of Empress Dowager Li, the eunuchs and maids in the palace made preparations for delivering the baby.From midwives and nurses to cradle diapers, everything is in order, from people to things.The Taoist priests of Longhu Mountain also specially opened the altar to ask for ninety-nine and eighty-one amulets of "the gods born from the dragon to avoid" and sent people to drive them to the capital day and night. Now they are pasted on the windows and doors of Qixiang Palace. The prince was born at three o'clock in Chou's time. Feng Bao, who had been guarding outside the gate of Qixiang Palace all night without closing his eyes, listened to the baby's cry and asked when he found out that the little guy had a penis growing under his crotch. Immediately filled with joy, he immediately went to Qianqing Palace to announce the good news to the emperor.The emperor and empress didn't close their eyes either, they played horse tags together with the eunuchs and waited for the news.When they heard the good news, they all laughed from ear to ear, and rushed to the two palaces of Ciqing and Cining together to announce the good news to the two empress dowagers.At this time, the Forbidden City was already boiling, and the east and west long streets were brightly lit everywhere.At the gates of dozens of palaces and courtyards, beaming red lanterns were hung, and the eunuchs and daughters-in-law on duty everywhere wore brand-new dresses to congratulate.First, at the gate of Qixiang Palace, and then throughout the entire palace, firecrackers were set off everywhere.On the Qiao Tower in the back garden and the Wufeng Tower in front of the Meridian Gate, both melodious and exciting bells were played at the same time... Soon, the lively atmosphere in the Forbidden City woke up the people in Kyoto, and people who had already fallen asleep got up and took to the streets.They stretched their necks to gaze at the dazzling rosy clouds over the Forbidden City, saw the purple mist hanging on the dragon's kiss with chi lips, and heard the bean-like firecrackers and the patchwork bells. They were all amazed.Just when they were whispering and discussing, they heard the eunuchs galloping out of the palace to report to the royal residences, and then they knew that the current emperor had a new dragon son, and the common people rushed to tell each other: "The prince is born!", "The next generation of the emperor is born!" All of a sudden, the huge city of Beijing was full of carnival, and the street curtains were rolled up and lights hung high;The fireworks are booming, the tendons are in a hurry; the auspicious bells and chimes are auspicious.In June, people in the capital experienced the great grief of Zhang Juzheng's death, and in just two months, they ushered in the great joy of the birth of the prince.From one extreme to another, people really feel the troubled times in the peaceful years. However, three days after the birth of the crown prince, that is, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Zhang Siwei arrived at the cabinet in the morning, Zhou You, the steward of the Qianqing Palace, came to deliver an order, saying that the emperor would summon him alone on the platform and asked him to leave immediately.Zhang Siwei suddenly felt joy falling from the sky, and hurriedly ordered the book office to seal Zhou You ten taels of silver.Zhang Siwei was so generous that Zhou You was overjoyed, and he couldn't help saying: "Mr. Zhang, Long Live Lord is in the midst of the show, so just say what you have to say." After finishing speaking, he left.Zhang Siwei pondered the meaning of this sentence, smiled, and went straight to the platform without daring to delay. Counting the days, the emperor's summoning and Feng Bao's quarrel with the cabinet was only five or six days away.As early as three days ago, Zhang Siwei instructed the household department to transfer 200,000 taels of silver to the inner court supply library.Zhang Siwei believes that the emperor finally agreed to meet him this time, and the credit should be attributed to Li Zhi's idea of ​​Huayin. On the way from the cabinet to the platform, Zhang Siwei walked extremely fast.The crown prince was just born, and tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the palace is full of festive atmosphere.At the back of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, on the sidewalk that connects the East and West Long Streets, several golden osmanthus trees are in full bloom, and the fragrance blowing by the breeze is refreshing.When Zhang Siwei passed through here, he saw several eunuchs walking hurriedly from east to west.He squinted his eyes and saw Hu You'er, the manager of the pastry shop in Da Nei, walking in front of him.From time to time, Hu You'er was ordered by the emperor to send snacks to the cabinet ministers, so Zhang Siwei recognized him.Behind Hu Youer, four or five little firemen with ebony plaques followed, all carrying food boxes covered with bright yellow brocade.Hu Youer saw Zhang Siwei from a long distance away, hurried over a few steps, gave a deep bow, and said with a smile on his face: "Master Zhang, it's rare to see you here. Your old man has paid homage to you. It's time for us slaves to congratulate you." "What is there to congratulate?" Zhang Siwei said with a happy smile, "When we saw you, Hu Youer, we remembered the peach cakes you made. You sent two boxes that time, and we took them back and shared them with our family. Everyone said it was delicious." "This humble craftsmanship is worthy of Xiangye's praise. As long as Xiangye likes to eat, I will give you more sooner or later." While talking, several small firemen carrying food boxes came to the front. Zhang Siwei looked at the bright yellow brocade on the burden, shining softly in the bright sun, and asked: "What's so delicious?" "Moon cakes," Hu Youer replied, "Ms. Li embraced her grandson herself, and she was so happy from ear to ear all day long. She told our pastry shop to make more good moon cakes, and each palace will send a few boxes. Son. We are here to send moon cakes to all parts of the harem. Don’t worry, Mr. Xiang, the officials of the outer court are also indispensable. The emperor has ordered that all officials above the second rank will receive three boxes per person; officials above the fourth rank will receive two boxes per person; All the rest of the Beijing officials, each with a box. Just to make this batch of mooncakes, the 20th and 30th people in our pastry shop were so busy that they didn’t sleep for several nights.” As Hu Youer said, he bowed again, and then left.As Zhang Siwei walked, he thought in his heart: "The emperor is really generous. He has been on the throne for ten years, and nine Mid-Autumn Festivals have passed before, and none of the foreign court officials have received mooncakes from him. Although giving snacks is a You can also see the change of the emperor's state of mind from the little mustard." I didn't feel that I had reached the door of the platform.The eunuch on duty here was named Sun Li. When he saw him coming, he stepped up to greet him and said: "Old man, please enter the hall and sit for a while, the Lord Long Live will be here soon." Hu Youer called "Xiangye" when they met just now, intending to show affection.Now Sun Li changed his name to Old Mister, but it was a normal title.With hundreds of people and a whole family, Zhang Siwei suddenly felt that the muddy water in the inner court could not be waded casually, so he settled down and sat upright. After a while, Sun Li respectfully shouted "Long Live Lord" outside the door, and immediately heard the sound of soft-soled boots stepping on the brick floor.Zhang Siwei followed the trend, and it happened that Zhu Yijun was wearing a brand new dragon robe and stepped into the threshold under the guidance of Zhou You.Zhang Siwei quickly knelt down and said loudly: "My minister Zhang Siwei has an audience with the emperor." "Stay flat." Zhu Yijun sat down on the imperial couch as he spoke.Zhang Siwei returned to the original chair and sat down.Although he is already the supreme civil servant, because it is the first time to face the saint alone, he is still a little nervous, and he said in a low voice: "Your Majesty summoned your servants, and I am very grateful." "Mr. Zhang Ge, don't be cautious," Zhu Yijun laughed to himself, "I have never seen you alone, are you anxious?" "Yes..." Zhang Siwei wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead, and said, "I know that the emperor is very busy these days." "It's not that I'm busy, but I'm a little upset." Zhu Yijun hopped on his boots on the gold-inlaid mahogany pedals, and said slowly, "Since Mr. Zhang, um, it's not you, Mr. Zhang, I'm talking about Yuan Assistant Zhang Juzheng. After his death, I dare not see foreign ministers for a while, no matter who I meet, I will think of Yuanfu, and I can't help but cry." As Zhu Yijun spoke, Qi Rong appeared on his face. Intuitively, Zhang Siwei felt that the emperor's sadness was not from the heart.He immediately wondered if the emperor's actions were testing his attitude, after a little thought, he replied: "The emperor's affection for Yuanfu is so deep that he mourns too much. Mr. Taiyue received this special favor, which makes my ministers envious." Zhu Yijun was somewhat surprised by this answer, and he asked, "My heart is grieving, what kind of special kindness is this?" "Although the first assistant is the ultimate minister, he is the emperor's servant after all. It is rare for the emperor to mourn a servant so heartbreakingly with the respect of ten thousand chariots. The minister sees it in his eyes and remembers it in his heart .It is truly a blessing for me to meet the Holy Lord of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, I am determined to serve the emperor to the death." Zhang Siwei showed his loyalty without showing the mountain or the water. Zhu Yijun felt relieved when he heard it, and made a joke: "It's okay to pay for it, but it's not okay to flatter." Zhang Siwei was insulted by this for no reason, and his heart suddenly flustered, and he said with a dry smile: "Your Majesty, I haven't learned how to flatter." Zhu Yijun laughed and said: "You took the initiative to ask the Ministry of Households to allocate 200,000 taels of silver to the inner court supply warehouse. If this is not flattery, what is it?" "This..." Zhang Siwei's face turned red. Seeing Zhang Siwei fidgeting, Zhu Yijun couldn't help laughing even more, and said jokingly: "I'm just saying something as a joke. Look at your embarrassment, Mr. Zhang Ge, it's true!" It was a false alarm for a long time.Zhang Siwei didn't expect that the emperor would play tricks on people, so he was sweating from fright, and didn't speak for a long time. At this time, Zhu Yijun had already suppressed his smile, and said: "Usually, Mr. Yuanfu Zhang has repeatedly warned me that Taicang silver can only be used for the state and cannot be used as private money of the royal family. Is there a rule to follow when you do this?" Zhang Siwei has calmed down from his panic.The emperor's question was already expected by him, so he said calmly at this time: "Mr. Taiyue is responsible for the country's financial management. He works hard and bears the burden of complaints without avoiding interests. He can be called a wise minister. But he separates the two accounts of the inner court and the outer court. It seems reasonable, but it is not good. The saying 'Under the world, is it the king's land, the ruler of the land' On the shore, could it be the king’s ministers.’ Even the nine states and thousands of miles in the world belong to the emperor, not to mention the taels of silver in Taicang? The emperor strictly saves money and eliminates extravagance to make a living for the people of the country. He always saves money and refuses to spend money. The way of the sage is the well-being of the people of the world. But this does not mean that the silver taels in Taicang cannot be used by the emperor for the inner court." "Well, what Zhang Ge said makes a lot of sense," Zhang Siwei untied Zhu Yijun's heart knot for many years with a few words, and saw a bright smile on his face, and then said, "These days, the eldest son of the emperor was born, Mr. Zhang Ge has worked a lot. I received the official copy of the cabinet a while ago, and you and the assistant ministers have reported the birth of the eldest son of the emperor, and the three important things that the court should do. I still have doubts about a few details." Zhang Siwei hurriedly said: "What instruction does the emperor have, I respectfully listen here." Zhu Yijun said: "As for the conferment of the Jin Dynasty, the empress dowagers of the two palaces and Wang Wei, the father of the empress, are all acceptable. As for the amnesty, your ministers proposed to pardon two groups of people. One is to execute the criminals this winter; Officials who were detained and convicted in 2009. A batch of prisoners were released during the winter execution, and no one objected. However, if the criminal officials are pardoned, I am afraid that there will be many criticisms.” When Zhang Siwei heard this, he wanted to argue but didn't have the courage, so he could only hesitate and say: "We, as ministers, just use our own knowledge to make suggestions, and everything is subject to the emperor's will." Over the years, every time Zhu Yijun discussed matters with Zhang Juzheng, he was always in awe and fear.Now he was very happy to see Zhang Siwei not daring to vent his anger, and he suddenly felt that he had gained a lot of majesty of the Ninth Five-Year Supreme.So he picked up his shelf and coughed, and said: "I know what you, Mr. Zhang Ge, are thinking of rehabilitating these criminal officials, so as to win people's hearts. This idea is good, but it's not the right time right now, so let's put this one on hold for now." Zhang Siwei was so horrified that cold sweat dripped down his back as the emperor said what he said, and hurriedly said: "I would like to obey the emperor's will." "There is one more thing," Zhu Yijun said after a pause, "There is one person who also wants to be named an uncle, and the empress dowagers of the two palaces also have this intention, but I don't know if it can be done?" "May I ask the emperor, who is this person?" Zhang Siwei raised his head and asked. "Feng Bao." "He?" Zhang Siwei blurted out. "Why, Mr. Zhang Ge feels strange?" Zhu Yijun asked, and then said, "Feng Bao is my great companion. In the sixth year of Longqing, he was ordered by the late emperor together with the three assistant ministers of the cabinet, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and Gao Yi. Of the four of them, he is the only one alive today. The eldest son of the emperor was born, and he deserves a share in rewards for meritorious deeds. Ordinary rewards are meaningless to Feng Bao, and being promoted to a title involves the imperial court guidelines. I can't make up my mind for a while." Zhang Siwei listened carefully, and felt that there was a mystery hidden in the emperor's words: Although on the surface he maintained his usual respect for Feng Bao, he did not want to ennoble Feng Bao.It's just that Empress Dowager Li made a statement, and he didn't dare to insist on not doing it, so he proposed to discuss it here.Zhang Siwei also felt awkward for a while, so he had to say perfunctorily: "When Mr. Taiyue was alive, he did not allow this kind of rewards at all. The reason is that the rewards are too indiscriminate, which ruins the rules of the court." "The problem is that Mr. Taiyue is no longer here. If he is, I don't need to worry about such things at all. Now you are in charge of the cabinet, Mr. Zhang Ge. What's your attitude?" Zhang Siwei was pushed against the wall at once, and it was impossible to play tricks.After thinking about it, he decided to take this opportunity to test whether the emperor had any intention of punishing Feng Bao.So he put his heart to one side and ventured to say: "I feel that it is inappropriate to confer the title of Feng Baojia." "What's wrong?" "There are no more than two kinds of knights in the past dynasties. One is the minister who has made great achievements; the other is the emperor's relatives. Feng Bao was born as an eunuch. His knighthood is bound to arouse criticism from scholars." "What I'm afraid of is not the criticism from scholars." Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows, showing a look of disdain, and said, "You have to make it clear whether there are any eunuchs in the previous court who were knighted." "There is one." "Who?" "Liu Jin." "Liu Jin," Zhu Yijun said after being taken aback. "Isn't this the palm seal of the Supervisor of Rituals under Emperor Wuzong? This person is extremely bad." "What the emperor said is very true. This person has been enshrined in his life, and he will die with more guilt." "Since that's the case, the matter of Feng Bao's ennobling should be shelved." Zhu Yijun seemed to have a big concern, relaxed his waist, and said casually, "After Mr. Zhang Ge returns, he will do what you said just now. Write me a statement." "Say what?" "Just talk about the reason why Feng Bao can't be knighted. This statement must be written well, and I will show it to the Queen Mother." When Zhang Siwei heard it, he couldn't help but secretly groaned in his heart. Unexpectedly, after walking around for a long time, he was actually caught in a trap by the emperor.The emperor asked him to punish Feng Bao as a villain.In this way, he not only broke up with Feng Bao completely, but also offended Empress Dowager Li incidentally.Now that things have come to this point, it is impossible to be a turtle.Zhang Siwei wanted to take this opportunity to give the emperor a lot of advice, but saw that the emperor had already got up and left his seat to drive back to the palace. Before leaving, he left a very meaningful sentence: "Mr. Zhang Ge, you have to think about everything."