It was already chilly in the capital at the end of October. Outside the magnificent Huangji Gate in the imperial city, the ministers from the morning court had just retired. A group of eunuchs were cleaning the Neijinshui Bridge, checking whether there were any newly grown weeds in the cracks of the bricks, and whether there were any lazy ones.
Eunuch, I will pull out a few impurities
The grass was thrown directly into the Neijinshui River under the bridge. The lotus flowers in the river had long withered, and most of the remaining lotus leaves were withered and curled into a ball. The tiny weeds slowly flowed along the river into the East Veranda, which is located on the south side of the East Veranda.
Standing in an inconspicuous courtyard, the people who come in and out are no longer eunuchs, this is the palace
Wenyuan Pavilion was the highest institution of civil servants in the Ming Dynasty.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Wenyuan Pavilion was originally just a place similar to the royal library. As the cabinet system gradually took shape, Wenyuan Pavilion became the actual center of dynasty government affairs, and its building scale also tended to be huge.
Xue Guoguan, who had just retired from the imperial court, walked into Wenyuan Pavilion. He did not stop in the main hall and walked directly to the left. Everyone he met on the way saluted him respectfully.
Xue Guoguan all expressed gentle expressions. Xue Guoguan also exchanged greetings with the Zhongshu officials he met by chance. After a while, he arrived at the first official building on the left. After a short briefing, he entered the office of the highest civil servant in the Ming Dynasty.
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The furnishings in Wen Tiren's public room are simple. Except for the piles of memorials, there are no valuable objects on the papers. The study room used is also ordinary, no different from that used by ordinary officials.
Xue Guoguan said respectfully, "I have met the old gentleman."
Wen Tiren had already come out from behind the desk. There was no excessive courtesy between the two of them. He directly motioned for Xue Guoguan to sit down and talk.
After the tea-serving Marquis Xiao left, Xue Guoguan whispered, "Zhang Pu's people have arrived in the capital. They asked to see Cai Yishen the day before yesterday."
Wen Tiren said nothing and waited for Xue Guoguan's next words.
"The man sent by Zhang Pu was named Wu Changshi. This man was Zhang Pu's confidant and a fellow Jinshi for the seventh year of Chongzhen. However, he had never been an official. He usually worked in the Yamen for Zhang Pu."
Wen Tiren said with a calm face, "Zhang Pu is like a thief in a urn, what terms can he come up with?" "After it was confirmed that Zhou Zhikui had resigned, Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai were frightened, and they were in panic all day long.
Everyone dispersed. They sent Wu Changshi to Beijing this time just to get out of trouble. Wu Changshi said that Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai promised to
I will never join the court as an official, and I will no longer instigate the restoration of the society, and will dissolve the restoration society after two or three years. The meaning behind the words is that I will never embarrass my husband in the future, and will also support him."
"It's just empty talk. If he doesn't promise, he won't be able to serve in the official position." Wen Tiren said softly, "What will this person do after coming to Beijing?"
"Xiaoguan received the news that Wu Changshi went to Dong Xinkui's place and met two Jiaxing officials. In addition... he seemed to have visited Zhuozhou before entering Beijing."
Hearing the word "Zhuozhou", the calm Wen Tiren frowned for the first time. Xue Guoguan paused for a moment and then asked, "Should we find someone to report this matter and simply uproot Fushe." "The Zhuozhou matter is not suitable to be reported to the public.
, I am worried about something else." Wen Tiren's brows did not relax, and after a long while he said in a deep voice, "In the emperor's heart, there are always checks and balances in court affairs, and what we only want to do is to overthrow Dong Lin.
This is because the Donglin tree has deep roots and is extremely difficult to deal with. If you want to overthrow Donglin, you have to leave Fushe behind. If you want to overthrow Fushe, you can't overturn Donglin for the time being. Fushe has a shallow foundation in the court, and Zhang Pu and Zhang Cai have already
I'm scared, it's better to leave them than to stay in Donglin." Xue Guoguan lowered his head and thought. He knew that Wen Tiren hadn't finished speaking, so he didn't answer. As expected, Wen Tiren continued, "When Wu Changshi went to Zhuozhou, I don't know if it was Zhang Pu who ordered it.
Someone still gave me some advice. But from this incident, I became worried.
, If we stay and restore the society, it may not be so easy to deal with in the future." "It should not be Dong Xinkui's advice. Everyone in the government knows about the restoration of the society, and he understands the propriety. Maybe Zhang Pu is eager to get out of trouble and seek medical treatment, and he doesn't care about his reputation.
”
Due to the capabilities of the Bureau, I think that if one of them is to be retained, it would be better to stay in Fushe."
Wen Tiren stood up and walked slowly around the official residence. Xue Guoguan immediately stood up and respectfully waited for the superior's decision. Xue Guoguan fully understood the difficulties of Wen Tiren in governing. As the chief minister who ruled as a lone party, he lacked the support of a strong political group.
, the strongest support came from the emperor, and the emperor hated cliques the most, which made Wen Tiren develop political alliances.
Youshi must also be careful to control his political power within the limits acceptable to the emperor. The conflict with Donglin is determined by the nature of power. Both parties are waiting for opportunities. This time, Wen Tiren has been planning for a long time, and the situation is more favorable.
But how to choose the best time is a test for this lonely minister. Once he misses this time, he will need to make plans again.
In a few years, he might have been overthrown by Donglin. But Xue Guoguan believed that now was the best time. He didn't want Wen Tiren to miss it. He coughed lightly and said, "This time the slave establishment is rampant in the border areas, your Majesty."
He was furious, and the news in the palace said that when Jian Nu came out, the emperor mentioned it again.
Recalling the past events of the past year, I cursed that everything was ruined by Dong Lin's hands."
Wen Tiren narrowed his eyes slightly and was still walking slowly. Xue Guoguan continued, "Zhang Guowei replied that Zhou Zhikui's accusation against Zhang Pu was untrue. The emperor had doubts about Zhang Guowei and ordered him not to be perfunctory. If he attacks again at this time,
Donglin, Qian Qianyi is his master, how dare Zhang Guowei return to protect him? Jiangnan area
Since there is no obstacle, it is the right time to withdraw money modestly."
"It's already October in Anqing. Puliu has been captured by the bandits in the near future. Why not wait until Zhang Guowei's army is defeated and attack them?"
Xue Guoguan said without hesitation, "Last year Zhang Guowei defended Jiangpu Liuhe, and even sent troops to help Lu Xiangsheng win a great victory in Chuzhou. This year the intruders were captured, and the outlaws declined. The lower official felt that the outlaws might not be able to defeat Zhang Guowei." Wen Tiren listened.
At this point, he nodded slightly. After Gao Yingxiang was captured this year, the overall bandit activities were far less rampant than last year. If it had not been for the slaves who joined the bandits, the situation would have been great. At this time, waiting for Zhang Guowei to be defeated, the chance is really low.
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"The cabinet changes frequently, and there are already problems compared with last year. I think it is not appropriate to delay it for a long time." Wen Tiren stopped, and his words seemed to speak to his worries. When he first started planning, the cabinet was completely under his control.
However, as Wu Zongda and Wang Yingxiong resigned one after another, the control over the cabinet began to weaken, but Donglin’s cabinet elders also
Being dismissed at the same time, both Qian Shisheng and Zhang Zhifa can be counted as political allies, and the situation is still controllable. However, Qian Shisheng left again this year. Xue Guoguan has always believed that Qian Shisheng was dismissed from office on purpose, because as a veteran in officialdom,
He didn't believe that Qian Shisheng would make such a low-level mistake. No matter how you looked at it, it was all intentional. The purpose was to avoid the decisive battle between Wen Tiren and Dong Lin. His
Leaving will have a great impact on the cabinet.
Now there are three newcomers, Kong Zhenyun, He Fengsheng, and Huang Shijun. Xue Guoguan, whom Wen Tiren favors, is not yet qualified enough. The current situation in the cabinet is already showing signs of being out of control. It is difficult to say what changes will happen in the future.
Wen Tiren turned to look at Xue Guoguan, "Is Zhang Hanru's ammunition ready?"
"It's ready." Xue Guoguan whispered, "It's inconvenient to bring it into the palace."
Wen Tiren nodded. If such important documents were carried with him, if they were accidentally lost, not only would all previous efforts be wasted, but it would also become evidence of his own manipulation of power. Therefore, Xue Guoguan was right to be cautious.
"Among them are manipulating officials and torturing local officials and people, and lower officials participating in bribery to manipulate local power in Jiangnan. Zhang Guowei was involved. Even if he wanted to protect him, he could not solve the emperor's suspicion."
"You and Cai Yishen will consider it carefully and then revise it carefully to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Xue Guoguan immediately agreed. He knew that Wen Tiren had made up his mind that the most important blow to Donglin was about to come. Zhang Hanru's bullet was important, but not the most important.
The bullet is just an arrow, but if it is delivered to an ordinary yamen, it will be scrap metal. Now it is necessary for Xue Guoguan to make it into a complete arrow and hand it to the hunter Wen Tiren. This is the most important thing. This
Through what channel should the ammunition be handed over to the cabinet, which cabinet minister should vote for it, when should it be sent to the Supervisor of Ceremonies so that the most suitable person can approve it, and how should it be sent to the emperor? Every link cannot be considered.
Mistakes all reflect Wen Tiren’s political control over the DPRK
To control the power, not to mention follow-up operations, how to use Qian Qianyi to defeat the entire Donglin and eliminate Donglin's overall political power is an even bigger trick. Except for Wen Tiren, no one else can be this hunter.
After making the decision, Wen Tiren suddenly coughed violently. Xue Guoguan quickly brought the tea and patted Wen Tiren's vest.
The attendants outside heard the sound and came in. Wen Tiren coughed and waved them out. After coughing for a while, he finally calmed down. Xue Guoguan supported him and eased his desk.
"Old sir, you need to take care of yourself. There are some troublesome things that I can take care of later."
Wen Tiren took a sip of tea, breathed a long sigh of relief, and leaned back on the chair to rest.
"They are all old problems. There is no need to worry about the family." Wen Tiren added softly and tiredly, "Zhang Pu is a traitor, let's keep him for now to see what happens next, and then we will end things with Qian Qianyi."
"And Qu Shichun."
Wen Tiren turned his eyes and looked at Xue Guoguan, "Qu Shichu has nothing to do with the overall situation. Will there be more complications? Is the family minister serving private or public affairs?"
"Being an official is both a public matter and a private matter."
Wen Tiren looked at Xue Guoguan for a moment, suddenly smiled, and slowly closed his eyes to rest.
When Xue Guoguan walked out of the official residence, he stopped briefly in the main hall and turned to look at the statue of Confucius in the main hall. The ancestor of scholars was looking kindly at the main hall of Wenyuan Pavilion. Xue Guoguan breathed a sigh of relief and went out the door.