One day later, two joint memorials from the Hanlin Academy and Zhan Shifu were sent to the palace. The contents were surprisingly consistent. They were both petitioning Qin Dewei to reinstate him.
The two memorials were circulated in the hands of the cabinet academicians. Except for surprise, no one voted for them, and they were presented directly to Emperor Jiajing.
It was the emperor's will for Qin Dewei to join the Zhizhi, and it was also the emperor's will to suspend his entry into the Zhizhi. Whether or not he should be reinstated could only be decided by the emperor. Besides, no one else wanted to cause Qin Dewei this trouble.
While Emperor Jiajing was cultivating immortality and dealing with political affairs, he saw these two memorials asking for Qin Dewei's reinstatement. However, before he could figure out how to arrange it, another urgent memorial came to the front of the case.
In the Wuyi Hall outside the gate of Renshou Palace, there are several wing rooms on the east and west sides. Each of the ministers of Zhizhi has one room. This is what is called "Zhilu" in history books.
Although the place is still very cramped, for the cabinet bachelors, it is much better than the office environment in Wenyuan Pavilion where each person had a small dark room.
Of course, if only one person uses Wenyuan Pavilion, that's a different story.
But it was said that Zhang Chao, the Minister of Rites, had finished his bath and returned to Wuyi Hall with Qin Dewei's "rewritten" Qing Ci.
After Zhang Chao handed in today's "homework", he saw Xia Yan, the chief assistant, standing in front of the hall and moving his legs and feet, looking relaxed and happy. He didn't know what happy event had happened.
But in such a forbidden place, you definitely can't inquire about things randomly like outside. Zhang Chao and Xia Shoufu were not very familiar, so he could only return to his wing with doubts.
In fact, as a minister of the Ministry of Rites, when I entered the Wuyi Palace, I was much more leisurely than the cabinet bachelors, but it was also more boring.
While the academicians in the cabinet were writing poems for worship, they also had to deal with state affairs. Emperor Jiajing was not a person who just stopped doing things just because he was cultivating immortality.
Zhang, the Minister of Rites, like his student named Qin, had no preparatory power and did not need to deal with memorials. He only had to write Qingci for worship.
Unless Emperor Jiajing specifically inquires or summons him for discussion, Zhang Shangshu can say a few words about state affairs.
Zhang Chao sat in the side room for a while, when a eunuch came over and summoned him, asking him to go to Renshou Palace for an audience.
So Zhang Shangshu quickly got up and followed the eunuch. Only when he saw the emperor did he find out that news had just arrived that the former chief assistant Zhang Fujing had passed away.
Zhang Chao suddenly realized why Xia Yan looked so happy.
Zhang Fuking was the number one contributor to the Great Rites Conference at that time and had a special status in the mind of Emperor Jiajing. Although he returned to his hometown due to the "seven-year itch", there is still the possibility of his return at any time.
The cabinet is a place that pays great attention to seniority. As long as the former chief minister returns to the court, the current chief minister will definitely give way. Therefore, Zhang Fujing is still Xia Yan's number one hidden danger.
Now that Zhang Fujing is gone, Xia Yan's position as first assistant has been completely consolidated. No one can challenge Xia Yan's position as first assistant for the time being.
Thinking of Zhang Fujing's political career, which rose like a comet and retreated like a shooting star, Zhang Chao also secretly sighed.
Nowadays, it is said that Bachelor Qin is promoted quickly, but compared with Zhang Fuking, Qin Dewei is still a lot slower!
At that time, Zhang Fuking started as a Jinshi in the 16th year of Zhengde. He was promoted to Hanlin Bachelor in three years, to Zhan Shi and Hanlin Bachelor in four years, and to Cabinet Bachelor in six and a half years, and he was still involved in machine maintenance!
However, Qin Dewei spent four years before becoming a young official and a Hanlin bachelor, and his promotion was much slower than Zhang Fujing's.
Emperor Jiajing summoned Zhang Chao, the Minister of Rites, not just to inform him of the death of Zhang Fuking.
The death of the former chief minister was such a big deal, so of course the emperor and the court had to express their opinions. For example, how to give a posthumous gift, how to determine a posthumous title, and how to send envoys to express condolences and offer funerals. These are all within the scope of the Ministry of Rites.
Emperor Jiajing said a few words briefly and asked Zhang Chao, the Minister of Rites, to come up with specific opinions.
Zhang Chao couldn't help but said: "I can only think of shortcomings, so why not ask all the elders to discuss it together?"
Zhang Chao's character is not as arbitrary as Qin Dewei's, and there are three bachelors outside. It always feels weird for him, the Minister of Rites, to draft it alone in front of the emperor.
Emperor Jiajing said firmly: "They are not needed. You can just draft the composition alone!"
Emperor Jiajing was not unaware of the hostile relationship between Xia Yan and Zhang Fujing. Yan Song and Gu Dingchen were both suppressed when Zhang Fujing came to power, and they did not have a favorable impression of Zhang Fujing.
Therefore, Emperor Jiajing didn't want to cause any more trouble, so he just let Zhang Chao draw up the plan alone.
So Zhang Shangshu could only think of a posthumous gift. Zhang Fujing had already been promoted to at least the title of Master and the Crown Prince during his lifetime, so it would be fine to posthumously grant him the title of Grand Master.
Zhang Shangshu thought about the posthumous title and decided on it as "Wen Zhong". Emperor Jiajing was also very satisfied with this. Of course, the number one hero of the Dali Conference must be assigned a "Zhong" title.
Zhang Chao asked about another arrangement: "What level is best for sending envoys to Yongjia, Zhejiang to offer condolences and burial?"
Emperor Jiajing still had great affection for his first favorite minister Zhang Fuking, and replied without hesitation: "I must send an important minister as an envoy."
Every day when Emperor Jiajing was not cultivating immortals, Eunuch Qin, the governor of the East Factory, would come as much as possible to make regular reports, and he happened to come at this time.
After hearing the funeral arrangements for Zhang Qian's first assistant, Eunuch Qin suddenly reminded Emperor Jiajing: "Do you want to take back the silver medal that Zhang Fujing was given?"
As a favorite of the first generation and a bachelor of the cabinet, Zhang Fujing must have the authority to give secret memorials with silver medals.
According to the practice of the Jiajing Dynasty, ministers must return their silver medals when resigning and are not allowed to take them home, but Zhang Fuking is the only exception.
When Zhang Fuking resigned, Emperor Jiajing specifically allowed Zhang Fuking not to return his silver medal, which was a very special favor. Another resigning scholar, Fang Xianfu, also wanted to keep his silver medal, but Emperor Jiajing did not agree.
Many people speculated based on this that Zhang Fujing might retaliate, which is what Xia Yan is most worried about.
Now that Zhang Fujing is gone, whether the imperial silver medal should be withdrawn is another question.
Thinking of this, Emperor Jiajing recalled the years of fighting with Zhang Fujing, and sighed: "Take it back."
Then the Qin eunuch took out his paper again and said to Emperor Jiajing: "A few days ago, His Majesty ordered his ministers to monitor Qin Dewei, and the movements in recent days have been recorded."
Emperor Jiajing took a quick glance at it and was generally satisfied with Qin Dewei's performance.
Zhang Chao took advantage of this moment to think of a candidate and told Emperor Jiajing: "Zhai Luan is currently idle and can be the envoy."
The emperor seemed to want to give Zhang Fujing the greatest honor. The weight of the former great scholar Zhai Luan must have been heavy enough.
Moreover, by finding something to do for Zhai Luan and sending him out of the capital, there would be no need for people to always say that Qin Dewei should make way for Zhai Luan.
Emperor Jiajing raised the zhazi in his hand and said, "Qin Dewei can do it too."
Zhang Chao: ""
Could it be that in the eyes of the emperor, Qin Dewei was considered an important minister?
Moreover, the emperor's thinking was too fast. With Qin Dewei's age and personality, he was definitely not suitable to be such a steady messenger.
After thinking about it, Zhang Chao bravely retorted: "If Qin Dewei is allowed to go, I'm afraid the Zhang family will be upset."
Your Majesty, don't even think about it, who inspired Zhang Qian's chief minister to step down in the first place?
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
My thoughts are still confusing. I just write whatever comes to my mind. I can’t do anything to update it.